Five Alarm Fire
by Viper Inferno
Summary: Kyodai tackles both his date with Minako and his role as Tuxedo Inferno at the same time. A new villain, Titanius, returns to the Dark Kingdom to not only assist them, but to claim his bounty. Sequel to Brother of Fire
1. Chapter 1: Battles Galore

Title: Five-Alarm Fire - Chapter 1

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG

Author's Note: I recommend reading "Brother of Fire" first since this story takes place after it, otherwise you might be a little lost in the beginning.

* * *

**Five-Alarm Fire**

_By Viper Inferno_

Chapter 1

"Dark Kingdom? What are you talking about?" a soldier pleaded, backing away from a man in a maroon tuxedo, maroon top-hat, and maroon cape with purple inner liner. The soldier himself was dressed in a full suit of black armor, covering every inch of the soldier that donned it. In his right hand, the soldier held a seemingly normal-looking broadsword.

"Inferno Fire Beam!" Tuxedo Inferno chanted aloud, waving his arms in kung fu fashion. He then aimed his open palms at the pleading soldier and fired an intense beam of fire. The beam struck its mark, drilling the soldier in the chest and knocking him flat on his back? With the soldier lying on the ground, seriously weakened from the fire beam and an earlier onslaught of fire-based attacks, Tuxedo Inferno slowly marched up to the weakened soldier and drew his flame sword from his obsidian jewel ring.

"Who are you?" the soldier cried.

"I am Tuxedo Inferno, warrior of fire and protector of good. In the name of the planet Mars, I will burn you," he replied. With that answer, he raised his flame sword high above his head as fire began to collect into his sword seemingly out of thin air, setting the blade ablaze, "Flame Sword, Strike!"

With all his might, Tuxedo Inferno struck the fallen soldier with his fiery blade, setting the soldier instantly and completely ablaze. Within seconds, the fire abruptly burned itself out, leaving only a pile of ashes to blow away in the wind. With the enemy soldier effectively dispatched, Tuxedo Inferno magically sheathed his sword inside his obsidian jewel ring. He then turned and began to walk out of the battle field and down the streets of western Tokyo.

"He wasn't lying," Tuxedo Inferno said to himself, thinking about why the soldier was pleading the way he was when Tuxedo Inferno had painted him as being of the Dark Kingdom. "He didn't look like somebody from the Dark Kingdom. Even so, somebody from the Dark Kingdom must've sent him."

On top of a nearby building, overlooking the battlefield, Jadeite witnessed the entire battle first hand, observing Tuxedo Inferno's battle with the soldier in black. He not only watched the battle, but with a parabolic microphone, he also listened to it as if he were in the middle of the battle. He seethed as Tuxedo Inferno struck the soldier down with his fiery sword. "Damn, he knows we're behind this," he said to himself as he turned away from the battlefield.

Inside the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl was also witnessing the battle through an image projected into thin air by her crystal ball. "The Mars Prince is tougher than we thought," Queen Beryl said to herself, trying to keep herself calm, "Jadeite's gonna pay for his stupidity, sending a soldier who knew nothing of his enemy."

After walking some distance from the battlefield, and getting quite a bit of attention from various admirers, Tuxedo Inferno had to get out of his alter ego and fast so he could continue on with his life. Finding an alleyway to hide in, Tuxedo Inferno turned the corner and hid next to a dumpster, out of sight from any onlookers. He focused on his obsidian jewel ring and closed his eyes, and in an instant, magical fire enveloped his body. Within seconds, the flames extinguished, revealing Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno's civilian form.

After transforming back, Kyodai sat against the wall next to the dumpster, with thoughts of the battle flowing through his mind. 'That soldier was different than the others I have fought in the last couple months,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'It's like somebody from the Dark Kingdom had just walked up to him and recruited him on the spot, gave him a sword, some powers, then gave him a target and sent him into battle. It's as if he was some kind of scout, allowing for someone else to watch and see how I'd fight him.'

Having concluded the circumstances surrounding the battle, Kyodai rose to his feet and made his way out of the alley and back into the real world, where the people casually walked the streets. After a short jaunt down the sidewalk, mingling with a few pedestrians in the process, Kyodai spotted his old coupe, a dark red 1979 Datsun Silvia hatchback, powered by a stock 1.8L turbocharged 4-cylinder. It wasn't in the best of condition, with the paint having lost its luster over the years, but it was a very reliable and a fairly sporty little coupe, and was easily able to pass Japan's mandatory inspections, something that gets expensive for older cars. The only modifications Kyodai had done to his car since he had gotten his license in the middle of Grade 12 was some dark window tinting and a pair of fog lights.

It was a hassle to get this old car for a reasonable price, but for Kyodai, it was well worth the effort as he was easily able to commute all around Tokyo. It also made it possible for him to move back to and live at the Hikawa Jinja, register a parking space there, and commute to the Azabu Institute of Technology. So Kyodai slipped his key into the door lock, opened it, and climbed inside. The inside of the car was actually in pretty good shape, with vinyl seats slightly worn but not torn in any places. The dash was in good condition, although it could've used a little shine, and the manual shifter shifted almost like it was brand new. Once seated in his car, Kyodai took a glance at his watch, which read 11:12 am.

"Damn, I gotta go pick Minako up," he swore to himself, remembering the arrangements he had with Minako the day before. He was to meet up with her so that they could spend their day off from school together. Kyodai didn't have soccer practice today, and Minako didn't have any major tests coming up, so all they had to worry about on this fine Saturday was their time together. However, the battle with this Dark Kingdom soldier had taken up a lot of Kyodai's time, giving him very little time to drive to Minako's house to pick her up. So he hurriedly slid the key into the ignition and started the engine of his old coupe. Without second thought, he shifted the car into first and punched the gas, making his car's rear tires sing a shrieking soprano as it sped off into the streets of Tokyo.

_Minako's House..._

After speeding through the streets of Tokyo, briskly yet cautiously passing cars along the way, Kyodai finally made it to Minako's house and pulled into an empty spot in front of her house. Afraid he was late, he checked his watch, reading 11:27am, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God I made it. And thank God the police didn't catch me speeding," he said to himself as he shut his engine off and stepped out of his car. He quickly brushed off his shirt, recomposed himself, and casually walked up the pathway to Minako's front door. Once there, he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

Moments later, the door open and Minako's beautiful blonde-  
haired, blue-eyed face peeked through the opening. Seeing who it was that had rang her doorbell, excitement overcame her as she swung the door open and threw herself, arms wide open, at Kyodai.

"Hi Kyodai-kun," she gleefully said as she threw her arms around him, "I'm so glad you made it."

"I'm glad to see you too," Kyodai replied as he casually returned her embrace. 'She's always so open with her feelings,' Kyodai thought to himself as Minako's arms affectionately wrapped tighter around his waist and her body pressed tighter against his, 'And she certainly likes to be held. Then again, I haven't known very many girls who weren't this affectionate.'

Moments later, Minako pushed herself off of Kyodai, with her arms still wrapped around his waist, and gazed into his dark purple eyes. "So," Minako said as she took one hand and began to gently caress his perfectly-shaved face, "where're we going?"

Kyodai only grinned, "You'll see."

"Oh, I love surprises," she replied, letting go of Kyodai and jumping up and down excitedly.

With Minako off of him, Kyodai began examining his beautiful girlfriend. The most striking feature that always grabbed his attention was the cute red bow in her hair, holding her ponytail in place. She was wearing a pale blue t-shirt under a dark blue jumper, with the skirt cut at just above her knees. With it, she wore white socks halfway up her shins. However, she had no shoes on, having no chance to slide into any before throwing herself at Kyodai. "You look great, Minako-chan," he complimented.

"Why thank you, Kyodai-kun," Minako replied as she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek and turned back toward her front door. "I'll be out in a minute," she said as she went back inside.

Kyodai didn't have to wait very long before Minako had emerged from her front door, with a small purse and wearing black mary janes. "Ready, Kyodai-kun?" she said rhetorically, wrapping her free arm around his as they walked toward his old coupe. Once there, Kyodai slid the key into the lock of his passenger-side door before opening it for Minako.

"You're such a gentleman Kyodai-kun," she said, smiling at him as she climbed inside.

"Thanks," he replied as he closed the door and walks around to the driver's side to get inside. Once inside, he took one glance into Minako's beautiful blue eyes and smiled at her, taking note of the beautiful girl sitting in the passenger seat of his pride and joy. He then started the car and drove off, albeit much more gently than his earlier trek to her house. He had a lady in his car, so there was no need for him to unleash his old coupe's sportier nature.

_Juuban Park..._

Once arriving at the park, Minako's face lit up with joy, "Oh my god, I love the park. Thank you, thank you, Kyodai-kun." Once Kyodai had parked his car, Minako unbuckled her seatbelt and let herself out of the car. As Kyodai opened the door to get out, Minako was already running into a grassy field in front of the lake. Once Kyodai shut the door, he gazed out toward the large blue lake, with flecks of gold flickering about it as the sun kissed its surface.

However, his attention once again turned to Minako, who had her arms outspread and was spinning gleefully like a figure skater, her blonde hair swaying elegantly in the wind as she spun. Kyodai only smiled at her athletic yet graceful display of sheer excitement and began walking toward her. But that beautiful display was short-lived as Minako ran up toward him and threw herself at him, colliding with him and throwing her arms around him, "Oh, Kyodai-kun. It feels so good being here, especially with you."

However, the embrace was also short-lived. Minako let Kyodai go, took a hold of his wrist, and led him further into the park and toward the glistening lake. Kyodai tried to follow casually, but Minako was walking much faster to the point that she was tugging at his wrist, seemingly in a hurry. "C'mon, Kyodai-kun, let's go to the lake," Minako urged. Giving up on dragging him, she let go of his wrist and ran toward the lake, chasing down a poor white duck in the process as it ran, flapping its wings and quacking in panic.

'Silly girl,' Kyodai thought to himself, chuckling yet trying to hold back a laugh. Although he knew she wasn't always like this, her excitement and her giddy schoolgirl act did bring a smile to his face, and only helped her to admire her carefree personality. He did sense a more serious side to her, one that wasn't so carefree but was more focused, and one who has seen some ups and downs in life and learned to live with it. However, in the week that he has dated her thus far, he's had yet to see the more serious side of her. It didn't make him like her any less, though. It did, however, make him want to see more from this beautiful young lady. He could only watch as Minako ran all the way to the edge of the lake.

"Minako-chan, we've got all afternoon," he called out, getting her attention, as he continued walking toward her at the lakeside, "You don't have to run. Besides, my surprise isn't 'til tonight."

"Really?" she said anxiously, "Oh I can't wait."

Once Kyodai had finally joined Minako's side, they sat down near the edge of the lake and watched as the ducks and swans swam effortlessly by them. Kyodai reached into the pocket of his slacks, and into a bag he had gotten out of his car, and pulled out a handful of grain. He gave a little bit to Minako, letting it pour gently into her cupped hand, and tossed the rest out toward the ducks. They watched as a dozen ducks swam frantically toward the floating bits of grain, gobbling up individual pieces in a heartbeat as they passed them by. Once nearly gone, Minako tossed her small amount toward the flock, watching as the ducks turned on a dime and toward the newly arrived bits of food.

She then glanced up toward Kyodai, who only smiled at the sight of the ducks flocking so frantically toward the food like they hadn't eaten in days. It drew a smile from her in response, and she leaned against his side, laying her head on his shoulder. Kyodai wrapped his arm around her shoulder in response and snuggled her closer to him. And there, the couple gazed toward the glistening lake as the ducks had finished competing over the last of the bits of grain. It was a much more relaxing time for the both of them, enjoying the serene beauty of the lake and taking in the warm fresh air, free from the worries of life. It was certainly a side of Minako that Kyodai enjoyed, as it was something he could share in with her so much more easily than her giddy side. At the least the girl can settle down and relax once in a while.

"Hi Kyodai-san, Hi Minako-chan," a familiar voice gleefully greeted moments later. Just as the couple was getting a little bit cozier, the voice had startled them, causing Kyodai drop his arm from Minako's shoulders and Minako to sit upright from Kyodai's shoulder. They then turned toward the origin of the somewhat cheerful, if not startling, greeting to see Usagi and Makoto walking toward them. "What're you guys doing?" Usagi asked when her eyes met theirs.

"Feeding the ducks and enjoying some time together," Kyodai replied.

"Yeah," says Minako, "He's gonna take me some place tonight."

"Really? That's great," Usagi replied. Although she had a bright smile on her face, both upon hearing the news and while watching the couple enjoy their time together, Makoto only grimly starred at them. 'So you got Kyodai, huh?' Makoto thought to herself, 'You may have won the battle, but the war is far from over.' But, she and Minako were friends, and she really didn't want Kyodai to come between them, just like what had happened when her last love had gotten between her and a very close friend of hers before she met Usagi. So she merely submitted to reason. "Enjoy your time together," she said, keeping her composure.

"We will," said Minako as Makoto and Usagi turned and continued about their business.

With Usagi and Makoto walking far enough from the couple, far enough out of earshot, Makoto turned to Usagi and whispered into her ear, "She'll get tired of him. I give them a week."

"And what then, Mako-chan?" said Usagi, "You'll nab him, right?"

"Something like that," Makoto replied, cackling. 'He will be mine someday, oh yes he will.'

Back at the lake, Kyodai and Minako watched on as more ducks swam by, gliding along the surface of the lake without so much as a ripple or a wake. Minako scooted herself closer to Kyodai and went back to leaning against him and lying her head on his shoulder. Kyodai responded by wrapping his arm back around her shoulder, holding her tightly against him, and lying his head on the top of hers. Together, they enjoyed the sight of the flocks of ducks swimming about the lake without a care in the world. But more so, they enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of the glistening lake as the sun kissed its rippling surface. Then, one particular sight grabbed the couple's attention, watching on as one duck was doing some sort of courtship dance to a potential mate. It was that sight prompted Minako to wrap her arms around Kyodai's chest, giving him an affectionate squeeze before placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" said Kyodai, returning Minako's affectionate squeeze with one of his own.

"Yes," Minako replied, "I just love watching these ducks and swans. And the lake looks so beautiful. Plus, I like to both relax here and have fun here with the others. That's why I love being here at the park."

After another moment, a thought suddenly hit Minako's mind. "Hey Kyodai-kun," she said as she gently let herself up from Kyodai's shoulder, sat upright, and turned to him, " Do you wanna go to the mall?"

Kyodai looked back at her to see her smiling and swiftly batting her beautiful baby-blue eyes in an attempt to provoke a 'yes'. And how could one say no to such an inviting face like Minako's? And Kyodai was enjoying his time with this rather beautiful young girl, whose beautiful blue eyes and that cute red bow in her long blonde hair could convince any man to give in to her desires, and possibly even some of their own, however benign. "Sure," he gladly replied.

With that response, the couple rose from their spot at the edge of the lake. Minako wrapped her arm around Kyodai's, and held that hand with her other, as they began a slow and casual walk toward Kyodai's old coupe. While walking, they both looked around to see if Usagi and Makoto were anywhere to be seen. However, they had long since left that section of the park and were probably enjoying each other's company elsewhere in the park, or perhaps they had already left the park. Even with their short little interruption, it didn't take away from the wonderful yet relaxing time they were having together. And with that thought, Minako leaned her head against Kyodai's shoulder as they continued their slow journey back to Kyodai's car.

Once at his car, with Minako still wrapped around his arm, Kyodai slid his keys into the passenger-side lock and opened the door for Minako. "Such a gentleman," she commented as she let him go and climbed into the passenger seat, "Thank you, Kyodai-kun."

"Anytime, Minako-chan," he replied as he shut the door and walked around to the driver's side. He then opened his door and climbed inside, finding that Minako had already buckled her seatbelt and was ready to go to the mall.

'Minako certainly has a love for mall strollin,' he thought to himself. Once inside, Kyodai grabbed his CD case from under his seat and began browsing through it. Inside, he had a seemingly endless cache of CD's covering various genres, ranging from: Pop, Rock, Jazz, R&B, and even classic Japanese Traditional. Minako only watched, gazing toward his eyes as they browsed through each CD in the endless cache, and smiled at him.

Finally, after a few minutes of browsing through CD's, and Minako silently gazing at him with her beautiful blue eyes, Kyodai found a CD to play on their trip toward the mall. So he removed the CD from the case, started his engine, and put the CD into his portable CD player. He had to use a portable CD player with an in-car adapter since his old coupe used an aftermarket cassette player. 'Whatever car I decide to get, it'd better have a CD player,' he thought to himself as the CD began playing.

"Oh, I love this group," Minako commented, recognizing the first few notes of the song. Minako sat back in her seat and closed her eyes as the melody and lyrics of the R&B song flowed through her mind. And Kyodai put his seatbelt on, shifted his car, and left the park. After a few minutes of driving, the song changed to a mellower track, sending a warm and fuzzy feeling flowing through Minako. In response, she looked over to Kyodai, who was mostly occupied by his driving, and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. She would've taken his hand into hers, only he needed that hand for shifting gears. So she was perfectly content with his shoulder. Kyodai looked back at her and gave her a warm smile, letting her know the feeling was mutual, and went back to his driving.

Moments later, after a few more tracks had played, they arrived at the mall, and at a rather jam-packed parking lot. "Wow, there sure are a lot of people here," Minako commented, having removed her hand from Kyodai's shoulder.

"It's Saturday, of course there's going to be a lot of people," Kyodai replied as he drove around the parking lot, looking for an empty spot that didn't require him to walk a long distance to the mall. Fortunately, he discovered a car backing out not that far from the mall itself. So Kyodai stopped and waited for the car to back out and leave before sliding into that parking spot himself. Once parked, he turned his CD player off and turned the car off. Afterward, Kyodai got out of his car and walked around to Minako's door to let her out, like the true gentleman he's been for the whole week they've been going out.

"Thank you, Kyodai-kun," she said as she climbed out of the car. In her mind, Minako couldn't stress enough how much of a gentleman Kyodai was being. She absolutely adored it. And in response, she once again wrapped one arm around Kyodai's and took that hand into hers as they began their trek toward the mall.

"Hey Kyodai-kun," a voice called out moments later as the couple had made it halfway to the mall from Kyodai's car.

The couple turned toward the summons to find Yoruno Obake at his car, his driver-side door opened, waving to Kyodai, "Is that Kyodai-kun with a girl?" Seeing Kyodai with a girl surprised Obake, since Kyodai had never once accepted any proposals for dates from some of the girls back at Azabu Tech, especially while Kyodai was living there. Academics and soccer were what dominated Kyodai's time. "I never knew you had time for a girlfriend," he commented.

Kyodai merely hung his head, sweat drop hanging from his head, "Surprise, Surprise." Only two people would've teased Kyodai about how seldom he dated girls, and even more when he actually had a date, and those were: his grandfather, and his friend Obake.

"Hey Kyodai-kun, who is that guy?" Minako asked, leading Kyodai toward Obake's car, a brand-new '93 Honda Civic SiR, top-of-the-line sport hatchback, which Kyodai had concluded long ago as obviously a gift from his father who was a surgeon at one of Tokyo's finest hospitals.

"Obake-kun, this is my girlfriend, Aino Minako," said Kyodai, letting go of Minako and properly introducing her to his friend, "Minako-chan, this is my friend, Yoruno Obake. We're co-starters on the soccer team."

"Pleased to meet you, Yoruno-san" said Minako, bowing politely. Afterward, she immediately noticed his appearance. 'Wow, he's not a bad looking guy at all. But, he's not as cute as my Kyodai-kun. Are all of the Azabu Institute of Technology's soccer players this hot?' she thought to herself.

"Thank you, Aino-san. I'm pleased to meet any friend of Kyodai's," Obake replied, noting the bow in Minako's hair as she bowed to him, then her attractive physique as she stood again. 'Wow, he has himself a real beauty,' he commented to himself. "But yes, Kyodai and I are both starters in the upcoming season opener," Obake explained, "He may be a year behind me, but Kyodai here's a great soccer player."

"And Obake here is one of the quickest forwards on the team," Kyodai added, "So of course he's going to be a starter."

"I don't know, Kyodai-kun," Obake rebutted, "I think you might actually qualify as one of the better players on the team, for a first- year nonetheless."

"So what are you doing here, Obake-kun?" Kyodai asked, changing the subject of who can give the better compliment.

"Oh, I'm going to the department store," Obake replied, "You two wanna come along?"

"No, thank you," Kyodai politely declined, "I'm just here spending some time with Minako. I promised her I'd spend the day with her."

"It's okay, I understand," said Obake as he shut his car door, turned his car alarm on, and began walking toward one of the mall's department stores, going a different direction than Kyodai and Minako were heading. "See you at practice tomorrow," he said, waving to the couple.

Moments later, after a slow walk with Minako clung tightly onto Kyodai's arm with that hand in hers, the couple entered the vast mall. It was still in the middle of autumn, with no holidays approaching, so the mall wore its usual architectural d?or. It was a 2-story mall, with wide passageways and a wide 2nd-floor balcony. In the middle of the first floor was numerous large indoor gardens, a few ponds filled with various native Japanese fish and plenty of water features, and a large number of benches, tables, and other sitting areas. In the center of the mall was a large, magnificently-sculpted fountain reaching all the way up to the second floor, with its water features spraying water almost all the way to the exquisitely-crafted crystal glass skylight. The rest of the ceiling was littered with many exposed, yet painted metal supports and was lined with numerous skylights at regular intervals. It often hung large banners of various advertisements, store names, store logos, and the common mall logo. And during any holiday season, the same ceilings and metal supports, and even the 2nd floor railing, wore the decorations, colors, banners, streamers, and even the lights of whichever holiday was approaching.

However, today, the ordinary beauty of the mall was overshadowed by the rather large crowds of people taking up the wide halls on both floors. "Wow," Minako said in amazement as some of those from the crowds pass her and Kyodai by, "There really are a lot of people here."

"Like I said, it's Saturday," Kyodai added, "But I don't often see this many people here. And it's not even a holiday."

The couple continued on inside the crowded mall, with Minako still hanging onto his arm not only to show off her love for the man, but also for dear life so as not to get sucked away into the crowd. Simply walking around the mall wasn't going to be enjoyable for the both of them, trying to fight their way through this crowd as if they were swimming the first leg of the Triathlon. Once they had made their way further into the mall, they found some empty benches in one of the many sitting areas in the middle of the first floor halls. Without any words spoken, they both decided to sit and relax for a minute and then decide on what they were going to do at the mall.

"I want to go to the music store," Kyodai suggested, "I love music and love to collect a wide variety of music. Plus, I'm always looking to expand my collection. And I'm sure Rei-chan would want something there as well."

"We can look at clothes after that," Minako added, "I love shopping for clothes. I am always looking for the latest fashions." However, she hung her head, with another sweat drop hanging, "However, I only manage to get a hold of about a third of them. I'm only a junior high student, after all."

"We can go to the department store for that. Besides, I could use a new blazer," said Kyodai, "As if I didn't already have enough of those."

"I can look at some dresses as well, and maybe something I can wear on a future date," Minako added, winking at Kyodai.

"Then it's decided," Kyodai declared as he stood from his bench, proud and determined, "Are you ready to battle this monstrous horde of people on our way to the music store?"

Minako only smiled at his response, quickly turning into a gleeful giggle, "Oh Kyodai-kun, you sound just like one of those romantic heroes from the movies, fighting for a good cause." She then stood from the bench next to him and wrapped her arm around his, leaning her head into his shoulder, "We'll take on the crowd together. Let's go."

After a long and slow journey through the crowded mall, easing their way through the sea of people without causing any unnecessary confrontations, the couple arrived at the music store. There, they had hoped they would finally find refuge from the sea of people flooding the rest of the mall. However, as they entered, they both hung their head in disappointment. "My God, it's crowded in here too," Kyodai said to Minako.

"You're telling me," Minako replied. They both let out a discontented sigh as they decided to tough it out and make their way into the store and toward the CD racks. As the couple began browsing through various CD's, Minako and Kyodai separated, with Kyodai browsing some Pop titles and Minako flipping through some R&B titles. "Hey Kyodai, come here. They've got a new album," said Minako, referring to the group they listened to on their way to the mall, as she waved Kyodai over to her.

Kyodai took little time to walk to Minako and look at the CD for himself, and then just as quickly took the CD and continued browsing, "Thank you, Minako-chan."

"Anytime, Kyodai-kun," Minako replied. The couple spent the next half-hour scanning through various genres of music, with Minako staying mostly in the Pop and R&B sections, and Kyodai going all over the store. After a while, Kyodai was carrying 8 CD's, 3 for him, 3 for Minako, and 2 for Rei. Minako herself had a couple CD's, both pop CD's from two of her favorite idols. As the couple made their way toward the counter, Minako's communicator began beeping. "Sorry Kyodai, I gotta check my pager," Minako said as she fumbled through her purse and pulled out the money to pay for her CDs, and handed both it and her CD's to Kyodai, "I'll be back, okay?"

"Sure, take your time, and be careful in the crowd," Kyodai replied as Minako left the music store seemingly in a hurry.

She briskly swam through the crowds of people with much less effort than her earlier journey to the music store, and quickly found the ladies' room. "No one here," she said to herself, checking each of the stalls, "Good." She then removed her communicator from her purse and turned it on, "Yes?"

"Minako-chan," a familiar voice replied as the face of a black crescent-headed cat appeared on the display, "We've got trouble at Juuban Park. Another soldier is wreaking havoc at the park, and a couple odd-looking youma are with him. I've already sent Usagi out and am calling the others."

"I'm on it," Minako replied as she slipped her communicator back into her purse and she quickly left the ladies room, keeping her eyes out and making sure Kyodai didn't catch her leaving him like this. "I'm so sorry, Kyodai-kun," Minako said to no one in particular, "I don't want to do this, but duty calls. Please forgive me." This time, she made no effort to carefully swim through the crowd as she hurried through, bumping into a couple of people on her way out of the mall. Once outside, she hid in a small niche and pulled her henshin pen out of her purse.

"Venus Power, Make-Up!"

In no time at all, she transformed into Sailor Venus. And without a moment to lose, she jumped onto the roof of the mall with no apparent effort and began running toward Juuban Park. Even with the distance Kyodai had to drive from the Juuban district toward the mall, Minako had to give it everything she had to help her friends and get back to her date with Kyodai.

She soon arrived at the park to find the soldier with his youma terrorizing the people. As awe-inspiring as the scene was, what really struck Sailor Venus was the fact that she and Kyodai were here not much more than an hour ago. The soldier was a rather tall man, clad in plain bluish-black armor and black riding boots. His youma were rather odd as Luna had earlier described, bearing both humanoid and non-humanoid features. They both had human torsos and heads mixed with animal-like extremities and other appendages. The youmas were making quick work of the people, easily overpowering them and draining them of their life energy. With the other senshi having not yet arrived on the scene, Sailor Venus launched her attack on one of the youma, "Crescent Beam!"

She fired a laser at the youma, knocking it off of a hapless woman and sending it on a ride quite a distance through the park. Weakened, it slowly staggered to its feet and began advancing toward Sailor Venus. The other youma had just finished draining another park visitor of their life energy when it saw its companion take the attack from the sailor senshi, as it too began advancing on her. As the youmas neared Sailor Venus, a large blast of fire struck one of them, sending it on a ride across the grassy field and into a tree. Although weakened, this youma too slowly staggered to its feet.

Sailor Mars arrived on the scene and took her place beside Sailor Venus, "Are you okay, Venus-chan?"

"I've never been better," Sailor Venus replied, "Why does the Dark Kingdom have to attack now while I'm on my date with your brother?"

"You know better than I do that they can attack at anytime," Sailor Mars replied, "So let's end this so you can go back to your date with him." Both senshi took it to the youmas, dodging attacks and firing away. With the senshi's hands full with the youmas, the soldier took his opportunity and began draining energy from the nearby people. The fact that neither senshi was getting the upper hand with the youmas made it that much easier for the soldier to concentrate on stealing life energy from the people without fear of retaliation.

Suddenly, flashes of lightning-enhanced bubbles struck both youmas off-guard, knocking them both to the ground and severely weakening them. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter quickly joined their friends, with Sailor Moon not far behind them, and stared down the struggling youmas.

"There's just no end to these guys, is there," Sailor Jupiter commented.

"Sailor Moon, do it," Sailor Mercury cheered on.

"You got it," Sailor Moon replied as she removed her tiara, "Moon Tiara Action!" With her powers, she charged up her tiara and hurled it at both of the crippled youmas, disintegrating them both into ashes.

The soldier, having finished draining the energy of another small group of people, watched on as his youma fell at the hands of the legendary Sailor Moon. Although he had seen that all five of the sailor senshi had arrived, the soldier merely grinned, "Ah, perfect. With all the senshi here, we can carry out our plans."

"Plans?" Sailor Moon commented, dumbfounded, "What are you talking about?"

"You'll see," the soldier replied as he launched a large ball of dark energy at the senshi, scattering all five of then about the grassy field.

_The Dark Kingdom..._

Inside the throne room of the Dark Kingdom, Queen Beryl sat at her throne, instinctively waving her hands around her crystal ball. There, she was watching the battle as it unfolded, using her crystal ball to project an image of the battle in thin air for her and all her minions to watch. Along with her minions, Jadeite stood before her in the middle of the throne room, watching the projected image of the soldier draining the people's energy and the Sailor Team destroying the youmas. Jadeite had to be present to watch this battle unfold, especially since he was the one who had planned this operation after being punished by Queen Beryl for his previous failure.

Queen Beryl grimaced as she witnessed Sailor Mercury's and Sailor Jupiter's combined attack overtaking and weakening the youmas after they had done such a good job keeping the other two senshi busy. As tempted as she was to lash out at Jadeite for yet another apparent failure, she merely bit her tongue as she listened to the words of the soldier as they sounded about the throne room like they were played at a movie theater. It was then that she grinned, remembering what she and Jadeite had earlier discussed before the operation had commenced. "Perfect," she commented, "We use this soldier and his worthless youmas to lure those sailor senshi."

"Yes," Jadeite agreed, "That part of the plan worked wonders just as I thought it would. Hopefully, it'll be enough to lure the Mars Prince as well."

"But we still have to find out his connection with them," Beryl added, thinking back to the first battles where she had witnessed Tuxedo Inferno and the Sailor Team fighting together. Sure, she had seen the Tuxedo Inferno interfering in many of Nephrite's, Zoicite's, and even Kunzite's operations by himself many times, but his recent appearances alongside the Sailor Senshi had further peaked Beryl's interests in him, as if she weren't already disgusted with him. This was why she had Jadeite plan this operation to ferret him out. "Let's try concentrating on one of them at a time," she suggested, "And we'll see if he's anything like Prince Endymion with that brat, Sailor Moon, and shows up when a certain senshi is in danger."

"You got it, Queen Beryl-sama" Jadeite replied. As he extracted a crystal-like transmitter from his pants pocket and spoke some orders into it.

_Back at Juuban Park..._

Immediately, the soldier charged at the 5 Sailor Senshi with lightning speed, bowling them over and scattering them about the park like bowling pins. He then turned back to the scattered senshi and began to choose one to concentrate his efforts on first. Immediately, he saw Sailor Mercury coming to her feet after her short trip through the air. With his first target sighted, he drew his sword, a 19th century style army saber, and charged at the unsuspecting Sailor Senshi.

Just as Sailor Mercury made it to her feet and shook off the hit she had earlier taken, she turned toward where she figured the soldier would be. Her eyes widened in shock as she caught sight of the soldier dashing toward her at high speed like an angry bull, his saber extended down and to his side. She immediately threw her crossed arms in front of her in a desperation defense as the soldier threw his free arm in front of him and connected with Sailor Mercury, knocking her back to the ground and sending her sliding across the grass. He then took his saber, charged it with his dark energy, and slashed at the air toward the downed Sailor Mercury, sending a powerful wave of dark energy at her, striking her before she could even sit back up and knocking her unconscious.

With Sailor Mercury down and out of the fight, the soldier scanned about the park grounds for his next target. His search was deemedunnecessary, as he caught Sailor Venus racing toward him at full speed. "Fool," he said to the speedy sailor senshi as she slashed his sword through thin air toward Sailor Venus, sending another wave of dark energy at her. Sailor Venus stopped dead in her tracks and threw her hands in front of her face as the foreboding wave of energy barreled toward her. However, Sailor Jupiter immediately dashed at Sailor Venus and tackled her to the ground, effectively saving her from the destructive force of the soldier's dark energy.

After the dust from their landing settled, Sailor Venus opened her eyes to discover Sailor Jupiter on top of her, having protected her from the soldier's attack. "Thank you, Jupiter-chan."

"Anytime," Sailor Jupiter replied as she pushed herself off of Sailor Venus and back on her feet. Although Minako had stolen Kyodai's love from her with her overly flirtatious and at times melodramatic advances, she would throw all their friendly rivalries aside as Sailor Jupiter and stand up for her friend. There would always be time when they were back in their civilian forms to continue with their little friendly battle over Kyodai's love. So she turned her attention back to the soldier, only to discover him running toward the pair with his saber extended to his side and behind. She only lowered her eyebrows and assumed an aggressive battle stance, ready to take him on in a battle of brawns.

As the soldier neared Sailor Jupiter, he raised his saber and began charging it with dark energy. But as the soldier swung it to strike down the meddling sailor senshi, Sailor Jupiter grabbed his wrist, effectively stopping his attack, and threw him down behind her and to the ground with a well-timed jiu-jitsu move. The soldier quickly recovered and rushed at her again, only to end up in a grappling match as Sailor Jupiter had taken both his wrists and was pushing against him with every ounce of strength she had.

Sailor Venus watched on as the two battled it out, pitting their strength against one another. "Now is our chance," Sailor Mars' voice sounded as she joined Sailor Venus by her side, "We had better take him down while Jupiter-chan is busy with him."

"Right," Sailor Venus replied as she threw her pointer finger into the air, "Crescent Beam!"

"Fire Soul!"

Sailor Jupiter immediately released the soldier and leaped out of the way just in time as the combined attack drilled the soldier square in the chest, sending him flying into a tree with armor-crushing force.

"NO!" Jadeite's voice screamed through the soldier's headset. The soldier wore a small headset receiver and microphone under his helmet to assist Jadeite in coordinating his operation with the soldier as he and Queen Beryl observed from the safety of the Dark Kingdom itself. Although the soldier couldn't see it, the silence after the outburst told the soldier that Jadeite was more then displeased with him, clinching his fists in anger while Queen Beryl was glaring at him. "Concentrate on those two," Jadeite's voice yelled through the soldier's headset after a short pause.

"Yes, Master Jadeite," the soldier replied as he pushed himself back to his feet. He then turned back toward the pair of senshi that fired the combined attack at him and quickly chose his target. Then immediately, he fired a swirling ray of dark energy straight at Sailor Venus, connecting with her and sending her flying into the lake, scaring away a number of ducks that were swimming in it. But as he was about to do the same to Sailor Mars, a bright light caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his eyes to catch a glimpse of a flying disk of light sailing toward him. However, he had noticed the flying disk a split-second too late as it struck him in the side, knocking him to the ground and sliding him over a hundred feet down the field.

The flying disk then flew back to its origin as quickly as it had struck the soldier. Sailor Moon caught her flying tiara and quickly donned it without even changing her angry facial expression. "How dare you interrupt my friend on her date with a good-looking guy. And how dare you hurt my friends like that," she said to the soldier as she began striking her battle pose, "In the name of the Moon, you'll be punished."

"Sailor Moon, stop it with your speeches and just finish him off," Sailor Mars ordered.

Sailor Moon sneered at her in response, "Okay, Miss 'I want to be leader'." She then drew her Moon Stick and charged up the Silver Crystal, then quickly aimed it at the struggling soldier and fired a beam of light. The beam struck the soldier, engulfing him in pure light and thus disintegrating him into a pile of ashes. "Alright, we did it," Sailor Moon cheered, jumping up and down in celebration.

_The Dark Kingdom..._

"NO!" Queen Beryl and Jadeite both exclaim as they witnessed the soldier disintegrating on their holographic display of the battle. Jadeite clinched his fists in anger, extremely disappointed in his soldier failing to complete his mission and falling so easily to the Sailor Team. And just as quickly, the thought of more punishment from Queen Beryl for failing in his operation invaded his mind, sending a chill through his body.

"I told you concentrating on one at a time wouldn't work," said Beryl, "How the hell are we going to carry out our plans if your soldiers can't even take those damned Sailor Senshi on."

"But, didn't you tell me to concentrate on one at a time to find out which one brought the Mars Prince into the battle?" Jadeite questioned.

"Of course I did, and I had an idea it wouldn't work," Beryl replied.

"Then I'll have to send in another soldier and change my strategy," said Jadeite, "We still have to draw out the Mars Prince. I'll use as many soldiers as I have if that's what it takes."

"You had better," Beryl demanded, "Or you know what kind of punishment you have coming for you if you fail me again."

"Yes, Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite replied as he spoke some orders into his crystal transmitter.

_Back at Juuban Park..._

Having defeated the soldier, and in doing so restored the energy of all the people that the soldier and his youma had drained from, the 5 Sailor Senshi regrouped to conclude their battle and part ways. Although the people's life energy had been restored, many of those who weren't struggling to even push themselves up were still lying on the ground unconscious.

"Well, that takes care of that soldier," said Sailor Jupiter.

"I swear, I really hate it when they interrupt our lives," Sailor Moon commented, "Why do they have to attack on a day off from school?"

"Now I can go back to my date with Kyodai," said Sailor Venus, her comment provoking a shrewd glare from Sailor Jupiter. But as she turned to depart and continue on her date, a ball of dark energy slammed into the quintet from out of nowhere, scattering them about the park.

"That didn't feel too good," Sailor Moon commented as she quickly recovered, only to find another soldier clad in bluish-black armor similar to the previous soldier's. "Oh no, not another one," she said as she rolled her eyes back in disappointment. In fact, she was more angry than disappointed, at both her celebration being cut short and her day off being ruined by the inconsiderate Dark Kingdom. So she pumped herself up and charged at the soldier, seeking to quickly end his intrusion as the other senshi were recovering from the soldier's attack. However, he drew a dark crystal similar to Zoicite's and fired an energy pulse at Sailor Moon, stopping her bum rush and knocking her back and to the ground.

With one sailor senshi down, the soldier turned to the other recovering senshi and rushed at them without delay. Just as Sailor Jupiter had gotten to her feet, the soldier aimed the dark crystal at her. It glowed a bright violet and fired an intense beam of dark energy, striking Sailor Jupiter dead in the chest and sending her flying across the lake, landing just on the opposite shoreline.

The other senshis' eyes opened wide in awe, watching as their friend fell so easily to such a powerful blast of energy. In response to such power, Sailor Mercury tapped her earring to don her visor, took out her minicomputer, and began scanning the soldier and his dark crystal. As she was scanning, Sailor Mars advanced toward the soldier, with Sailor Venus not far behind. As the two senshi took it to the soldier, Sailor Mercury gasped at the readings she was getting. "Be careful, everyone," she warned, "The energy readings on that crystal are off the charts."

"Then find a weakness, and quickly," Sailor Mars ordered before the soldier knocked her on her back.

Watching the soldier bully her friends, Sailor Moon quickly removed her tiara and charged it up, "Moon Tiara Action!"

She quickly hurled the tiara at the soldier, striking his dark crystal and knocking it loose from the soldier's hand. However, despite her effort, she failed to destroy the dark crystal. The soldier quickly retrieved the crystal and continued his attack on Sailor Mars. He charged his crystal and fired a beam of dark energy at her, striking her dead in the chest and sending her on a ride through the park and into a picnic table, shattering it on impact.

_Mall..._

After having paid for both his and Minako's CD's at the music store, and braved the crowds in the mall, Kyodai sat on a chair at the department store and patiently waited for Minako. Since they had planned to come here after their visit to the music store, Kyodai figured he would meet her up here. But it had been a half-hour since Minako had left him at the music store in response to her pager going off. And Kyodai then began to wonder what was taking her so long. Was it something important that she had to tend to, or was she on the phone chatting with one of her friends? Fed up with waiting for her, he rose from his chair and made his way to the men's clothing section. 'I might as well start looking though some coats while I'm waiting for her,' he thought to himself on the way there, 'I'm sure she'll find me there.'

Moments later, he arrived at the men's clothing section and began browsing through the large collection of blazers and sport coats. Although he liked most of what he saw, what really caught his eye were a fancy maroon blazer, a well-made maroon double-breasted coat, and an expensive dark maroon business suit. Having found a good collection of fine coats and suits, he couldn't help but wonder, 'I wonder if they happen to have any good tuxedos here?' He smiled at the thought, thinking of both his exploits as Tuxedo Inferno and the costume he wore as his alter ego. Then, reason came to him, 'Nah, I'll search the tuxedo store on my own time.' As much as he would've loved to have taken the coats he had found interesting to the counter, he really wanted to show them off to Minako. And his worries over what was taking her so long quickly reentered his mind. So he put the coats back up and continued to wait on Minako.

Suddenly, a weird feeling came over him, like someone close to him was in danger. Although it was odd to him, suddenly having such a feeling coming to him from seemingly out of nowhere, he figured it was just his worries over Minako taking a long time to run an errand. So he brushed off the feeling as quickly as it had come and continued on his walk though the department store. He decided to search the women's clothing section, figuring that Minako was probably there doing the same thing he had been doing, looking through clothes while waiting for him. However, on his way there, the odd feeling came back, and more vigorously as not only was it the feeling of someone close to him being in danger, but it was a girl's voice crying out for help. And not only was the voice beckoning him, but an all-too-familiar sense of evil lurking nearby flooded his mind like a sinking ship.

Unable to bear it any longer, Kyodai ran through the department store to find a safe place to transform, getting some bewildered glances from people along the way. Finding a good place to hide in a department store was no easy matter since there were plenty of people walking about and browsing in the different sections of the department store. His search became more frantic as he scurried about the store, desperately searching for a good place to transform outside the inquisitive eyes of both the people and the security cameras. Then, in a stroke of good luck, he spotted an elevator. With desperation completely taking him over, he sharply pointed to it and let out a short, "YEAH," and ran to it. He then began pressing the down button, vigorously and impatiently pressing at it constantly. "C'mon, c'mon, work, dammit," he scolded as he continued pressing the down button, "Open sesame."

In what seemed like an eternity and a half, the elevator sounded a ding moments before the door began to open, revealing an empty elevator, completely safe from the prying eyes of people and cameras. "YES," Kyodai cheered as he jumped inside. He then began pressing the close door button just as vigorously as he had done with the down button to get in. Once the elevator door finally closed, he raised his left hand, bearing his obsidian jewel ring, and summoned the power of fire, transforming him into Tuxedo Inferno. Once wearing the tuxedo, cape, and mask of his alter ego that had made him smile earlier, he pressed the button to go to the store's first floor. Once there, he left the elevator and began making his way toward the exit. However, along the way, he discovered that the first floor was every bit as full of people as the second floor. And many people were starring at the rather handsome looking man in the tuxedo.

"Nice outfit handsome," a woman in the kids department commented.

"Thanks," Tuxedo Inferno replied, waving to the woman as he continued walking toward the exit.

"Hey lover boy," a man in the furniture department called out as Kyodai walked by, "Costume party's in the ballroom across the street."

"Thank you, sir," Tuxedo Inferno replied, waving to the man.

As he continued his journey toward the store's exit, more women and even some sorority girls he knew from the Azabu Institute of Technology noticed him, some whistling at him. Moments later, he reached the exit and left the department store with great haste. "Dammit, I'm never gonna transform here again," he said to himself as he began running direction of the park, letting his sixth sense guide him there.

_Back at Juuban Park..._

Sailor Moon was grappling and struggling with the soldier, desperately trying to get to his dark crystal and wrestle it from his grasp. This bout proved to be difficult for Sailor Moon, as her opponent was nearly twice her size. Every time she tried to go for his dark crystal, or even wrestle with him, the soldier easily knocked her aside, pushed her to the ground, or even tossed her into the air. But no matter how many times she was thrown around, she quickly recovered and tenaciously went at him again.

"Sailor Moon," Sailor Mercury summoned, getting her attention. Sailor Moon looked toward Sailor Mercury to find out what she wanted. However, this gave the soldier a perfect opportunity as he threw Sailor Moon hard into the ground. After a few seconds on dream street, she looked back up toward Sailor Mercury and shook the cobwebs from her head, "What is it? Can't you see I'm busy with this oversized hunk of metal"  
"Fire and thunder can take this guy out," Sailor Mercury commented.

"But Sailor Mars is way over there," Sailor Moon argued as she pointed to the picnic table where Sailor Mars was just beginning to struggle back to her feet, far too weary to act on Sailor Mercury's advice. "And Sailor Jupiter's on the other side of the lake," she continued, pointing at Sailor Jupiter's unconscious body.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a powerful beam of fire drilled the soldier in the chest, sending him on a ride into the lake. The 3 standing senshi took toward the origin of the fire beam on a nearby hill. There, with his maroon cape and long jet black hair waving in the wind, stood Tuxedo Inferno, with his palms still outstretched, pointing toward where the soldier once stood.

"He's back," Sailor Venus commented, "And he easily sent that soldier flying."

"Maybe we should trust him," Sailor Mercury suggested.

"Maybe," Sailor Moon responded, with some doubt lingering in her mind, "Venus-chan, go over to Jupiter-chan and make sure she doesn't lash out at him. If fire works against this soldier, then this Tuxedo Infernocould be of help."

"Right," Sailor Venus replied as she began running around the lake to where Sailor Jupiter had just began recovering from her short but violent ride over the lake.

Moments later, the soldier recovered and began making his way out of the water. Once out, he quickly scanned the park for whoever had him with that surprise attack, only to realize that he had lured the Mars Prince as planned. "Good, you're here," he commented as he pointed his dark crystal at Tuxedo Inferno, "Now face my dark crystal." The dark crystal began to emit a violet light, charging itself with dark energy.

In response, Tuxedo Inferno brought his arm across his body, with his two fingers by his ear. "Inferno Blaze," he chanted before swinging his arm out to his side, "Wall!" With that swift motion, he sent a powerful wall of fire rushing at the soldier, knocking his dark crystal loose from his hand and shattering it into multiple pieces. With the soldier disarmed and more vulnerable, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Moon took this opportunity to finish the soldier off.

"Shabon Spray!"

Sailor Mercury's bubble attack struck the soldier dead in the face, stunning him and enveloping the area around him in a thick fog.

"I've had enough of Dark Kingdom ruining our day off," Sailor Moon snarled as she drew her Moon Wand, "In the name of the Moon, you'll be punished!" She charged up the Silver Crystal and fired a beam of light at the woozy soldier, striking him in the chest disintegrating him into a puff of purple smoke.

With the second soldier utterly defeated, the other senshi began converging on Sailor Moon. Sailor Jupiter, having recovered from her attack and walking toward Sailor Moon with Sailor Venus, spotted Tuxedo Inferno on the nearby hilltop. "YOU," Sailor Jupiter yelled, taking a few aggressive steps toward him and assuming her battle stance, ready to electrocute the man in the maroon tuxedo.

"Calm down, Jupiter-chan," Sailor Moon yelled, startling her friend and effectively stopping her from doing anything rash, such as attack the very man who had helped them to defeat the soldier. She then turned back to Tuxedo Inferno, "Thank you for your help, Tuxedo Inferno-sama."

"Don't sweat it," Tuxedo Inferno said as he turned and exited the battlefield in a hurry, remembering his date with Minako. With the strange tuxedoed warrior gone, she then turned back to Sailor Jupiter, "Jupiter-chan, he helped us out."

"That's right," Sailor Mercury agreed, "He used fire to weaken the soldier while Sailor Moon finished him off."

"But it's all too damn coincidental," Sailor Jupiter argued, "I still don't trust him."

"We need to hold a senshi meeting at the shrine," said Sailor Mars.

"What about your brother?" Sailor Mercury, worried about Kyodai discovering their identities.

Suddenly, Sailor Venus remembered that she had left Kyodai back at the mall to help fight off the Dark Kingdom's soldiers, "Oh my God, I forgot about him," she exclaimed, "Ohhh he's gonna be so mad." She quickly turned and ran back toward the mall with the speed of an Olympic sprinter, not forgetting to transform back into her civilian form when she found a secluded alleyway to safely do so.

"Let's go," Sailor Moon said as she and the other senshi begin walking in the direction of the Hikawa Jinja.

_The Dark Kingdom..._

Queen Beryl and Jadeite had witnessed the entire battle from the safety of the throne room, letting Beryl's crystal project the images of the battle for all in the throne room to observe. Although the soldier was utterly defeated in battle, she and Jadeite both smiled at the results before she broke out into laughter.

"Ha, ha, ha, great," Beryl cackled.  
"When the senshi are in trouble, the Mars Prince comes to help," said Jadeite.

"No, you idiot" Beryl snarled, "The pretty little brat's prince would've showed up as well. There must be some connection between him and that pyromaniac, Sailor Mars."

"But none of the senshi, not even she, know about him," Jadeite argued.

"Still, now that we've studied him a little, it's time to carry on with the rest of our plans," Beryl continued. She had already had this plan in the works since Tuxedo Inferno's first fight alongside the Sailor Senshi. But she had to study his connection with them and what had prompted him to join them in the first place before she could even execute her plan. With this information, that time had finally come to act. "Set a price on him," she ordered, "Make sure we get the best bounty hunters on him."

"Bounty hunters?" said Jadeite, weary of her intentions.

"Yes, bounty hunters," Beryl responded, "Nothing will make warriors, especially bounty hunters, more dangerous than their love for money. So put a price on his head. Such a reward will only motivate them to do a better job than any of you Four Kings have at ridding us of the Mars Prince."

"Yes, Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite replied as he turned and walked out of the throne room.

_end of chapter 1_

_

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_...Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine. They belong to Naoko Takeuchi, and I thank that woman for creating such great entertainment. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment, and I thank them for bringing' it, and finally the S season, to America. Anyways, Russell Hino, Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, and all his other identities are MINE (in a deep, dark, growling voice). The new villain I'm 'bout to introduce is also mine. So, please don't sue me. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno (Y2V)


	2. Chapter 2: The Uninterrupted Date

Title: Five-Alarm Fire - Chapter 2

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG

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**Five-Alarm Fire **

_By Viper Inferno_

Chapter 2

_2:01pm, at the Hikawa Jinja..._

The senshi arrived at the steps of the Hikawa Jinja after their battle with the Dark Kingdom's soldiers. They had already transformed back into their civilian forms long before their arrival, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention from the many fans of the legendary Sailor Team. Usagi was nowhere to be found amongst the group for reasons known only to the others, and Minako had returned to her date with Kyodai at the mall. Once Rei had gathered them, she led the way as they ascended the shrine steps. Once on the grounds they made their way to the living area, without so much as a word uttered to one another. However, once they went inside and removed their shoes at the front door, the girls immediately noticed the large and well-stocked trophy case. It wasn't any specific trophies that had the girls gazing at them in awe, but rather the sheer number of different gold and silver trophies of different sizes.

"Wow," Makoto commented in amazement, "Rei-chan wasn't kidding about her brother winning so many trophies." 'And Minako's with him, damn it.'

"How did he get so many?" Ami inquired, amazed yet a little envious at the size of his collection.

"These are all the ones he's won since he was 7 years old," Rei explained, "It took me some effort to put this display together, but it was worth it. We're all so proud of him."

Ami and Makoto continued gazing at the trophies, taking in their sheer numbers, their beauty, and Rei's explanation behind them. Just as Ami's eyes had begun examining the individual trophies, Rei marched around behind her and Makoto, placed her hands on the small of their backs, and proceeded to lead them away from the trophy case and toward Rei's room. Just as she had let them to the threshold of the hallway, a girl's voice calling out to her stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned her head to find Usagi hurrying inside and slipping her shoes off at the door, with Luna and Artemis following close behind.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to get Luna," said Usagi as she trotted up to Rei and the others, "And Artemis begged to come along too when I contacted Luna."

"Don't sweat it, Odango," said Rei, "I was late only that one time. However, you're always late."

"I also said you couldn't jump me for being late," Usagi argued.

"That was for a casual meeting, not a senshi meeting," Rei argued back.

Rei and Usagi continued on with their argument, glaring at each other, and sticking their tongues out at one another. Makoto cleared her throat to get their attention, reminding them of why they had gathered there in the first place. So they quickly ended their quarrel and continued their trip to Rei's room. Once inside, Minako, Makoto, and Usagi sat in the middle of the floor, Ami sat on a chair at Rei's desk, and Rei sat on the edge of her bed. Once seated, Luna hopped onto Ami's lap while and Artemis curled up in front of Minako.

"What we witnessed today was pretty unusual," said Rei, opening the discussion.

"Tell me about it," said Usagi, "We defeat one Dark Kingdom soldier and another one shows up."

"We've had things like that happen before," said Rei, "But that's not all. The first one seemed to concentrate on one of us at a time. The second actually spread his attack a little."

"And then Tuxedo Inferno shows up again," Makoto added, "He's been doing that a lot lately. And this time, that soldier seemed to have been waiting for him"

"I must agree with Makoto on this one," said Ami, "That soldier said 'Good, you're here' when Tuxedo Inferno showed up. That must mean something."

"The Dark Kingdom seems to have some sort of plot against us in the works," said Makoto, "Those soldiers and what they said to Tuxedo Inferno, it's all too suspicious for Tuxedo Inferno to be our ally."

"He did help us defeat the Dark Kingdom's minions every time he's shown up," said Rei.

"Speaking of showing up, my Tuxedo Mask didn't even show up," said Usagi.

"That's because you were never in any real danger," said Rei.

"The only ones who had any real trouble were you and Makoto," Ami said to Rei.

Luna cleared her throat to get the girls' attention, "I know it is all too coincidental that he seems to show up just at the right moment, but there must be some way Tuxedo Inferno knows when to help you out. Remember Tuxedo Mask?"

All five nodded in response as Luna continued on, "He too showed up at just the right moment and saved Sailor Moon and every one of you from certain defeat. Tuxedo Inferno's connection with you could be similar to Tuxedo Mask's."

"Couldn't you try one of your fire readings tonight since Kyodai isn't around?" Usagi asked.

"Oh, Kyodai doesn't mind," Rei explained, "He just sees it as another one of my religious practices. Besides, as I told you before, I found nothing on Tuxedo Inferno. But, I'll see what I can find out about the Dark Kingdom and the reason why that soldier made that quote."

"Then it's settled," said Luna as she stood, her tail standing straight up, "Rei, find out what you can about what the Dark Kingdom is up to. As for the rest of you, keep your communicators with you at all times. I'll fill Minako in on the details of our meeting later."

_Dark Kingdom headquarters..._

Although it had only been a couple hours since the results of the battle at Juuban Park, Queen Beryl had much on her mind as she sat at her throne, gently running her hands over and around her crystal ball. The Mars Prince had been on her mind since his first appearance, but since he had been fighting side-by-side with the Sailor Team, his heightened threat to the Dark Kingdom weighed even heavier on her mind. Not only did she have the appearance of all 5 sailor senshi and the loss of Prince Endymion as her pawn for gathering the Rainbow Crystals to deal with, but she had the Mars Prince causing her soldiers and youma a great deal of problems, both as a lone wolf and alongside the Sailor Team.

'So that fire senshi is his connection to him,' Beryl thought to herself, 'So when we get her in a bind, we attract him. But how were we crossing paths with him while he was still a lone wolf? And how the hell did we get him and not those sailor senshi this morning when we attacked in the middle of Tokyo's Juuban District?"

"Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite's voice resonated about the throne room, breaking her from her trance.

"You're back already?" Beryl snarled as she stared back up from her crystal ball. Jadeite had just entered the throne room, accompanied by a man with long, jet black hair, and wearing red crystal earrings. He also wore black full-body armor with red designs on the breast plate, covering most of the man's body, except for his forearms and shins, on which he wore black leather gloves and shiny black leather riding boots. The edges of his collar, shoulder plates, and skirt pieces were red, and the elbow and knee pieces were also red. And to complete his combat uniform, he wore a fine-made scarlet cape.

"Yes, Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite replied as he kneeled before her, "I've completed my mission and found us a bounty hunter to rid us of the Mars Prince and the Sailor Team."

"What, only one?" Beryl commented, "I set that bounty so we could have an aggressive band of bounty hunters taking that Mars Prince and those meddling sailor senshi on."

"I understand, Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite replied, "I found the best, just like you wanted me to. And he was even one of our own, so you can bet he's good."

"A Dark Kingdom bounty hunter?" said Beryl, "Then he should be of good use."

"Queen Beryl-sama, this is Titanius, a former champion of the Dark Kingdom," Jadeite explained, waving his hand toward Titanius, "He became a bounty hunter a long time ago, before we even attacked the Moon Kingdom. He owed me a favor and jumped at the great pay we offered for the Mars Prince. He even offered to rid us of those pesky senshi as well."

"The Mars Prince will make a good notch on my gun belt," said Titanius, kneeling before Queen Beryl, "If it's an army of bounty hunters you wanted, I have a few of my own soldiers who can be a great addition to your army as well. Whatever it is you demand, Queen Beryl-sama, I'm at your service."

Beryl only smiled at his words before she began cackling, "Perfect! With a bounty hunter like him, we'll rid ourselves of the Mars Prince and the Sailor Team, revive our Great Leader, and take back Earth in no time."

_Mall..._

After a strenuous journey across multiple wards in Tokyo, even as Tuxedo Inferno, Kyodai arrived back at the mall and hid at an unloading dock for one of the department stores to hide from any inquisitive onlookers. It was there that he rested against the wall for a minute to catch his breath before finally removing his transformation. Once back in his civilian form, he emerged from the unloading dock and walked toward the main entrance of the department store, the very one he had earlier transformed into Tuxedo Inferno. Once inside, the same thought he had since the end of the battle and throughout his journey back to the mall struck him again. 'Oh my God, Minako's going to be so pissed off at me for leaving her,' Kyodai thought to himself as he began to jog through the department store, catching a few odd looks from a few of the customers, 'She'll leave me for sure, the first girl I've dated since I started college at Azabu Tech.'

In short order, Kyodai arrived back inside the mall itself and quickly ducked around and dodged the crowds of people walking up and down the mall. Thoughts of a crying Minako began weighing on his mind as he continued to hastily swim through the crowds, breaking around some of the people as if they were soccer opponents. Worse than that, for all he knew, Minako might have already left the mall and taken either a bus or train back to the Juuban district, leaving him with only his car, and possibly Obake if he was still somewhere in this mall.

Finally, he had made it to the center of the mall where the large water fountain stood. He figured this part of the mall would've made a great central meeting place, and a possible place for Minako to be waiting for him, if she still was. Once at the fountain, he stopped, quickly caught his breath, and began to scan about the fountain area and the rest of the mall. Sadly, Minako's bow-adorned blonde head and face were nowhere to be found. Defeated, he sat at a bench in front of the fountain and decided to wait on her, figuring she would find him here if she was still here. 'God, I hope I didn't make her upset and leave here,' Kyodai thought to himself, 'I know damn well she's going to be pissed at me for leaving her to do... well, I'd better not let her know about the Tuxedo Inferno thing.'

Meanwhile, Minako arrived at the same the department store that Kyodai had earlier arrived at and began her search for Kyodai. 'God, he's gonna leave me for running out on him like that,' Minako thought to herself as she entered. She figured that she could probably find Kyodai more easily from the higher vantage point of the second floor of the mall rather than the first. So immediately, she dashed at high speed toward an escalator, also catching a few stares from some of the same customers who had given Kyodai some odd looks. Once on the second floor, she immediately dashed toward the mall itself, ignoring the bewildered glances from the customers, and quickly began looking for a store to browse in, finding an impromptu way to cover up her little Sailor Venus secret. In a split second, she spied a make-up store and quickly began to browse through various blush and lipsticks. Quickly unsatisfied, she left the store in near terror, 'God, I hope he didn't leave me here,' she thought to herself, 'He's the first boyfriend I had since losing Allan, and the Dark Kingdom just had to show up and ruin it for me.'

Unsatisfied with her attempt at covering up her Sailor Venus episode, Minako bravely swam through the crowds toward the mall's second-floor railing and began walking alongside it, searching all around both the first and second floors for Kyodai. Her trip along the railing proved much easier than her previous trip though the first floor when she had to leave in response to the Dark Kingdom's attack. Much fewer people were standing along or over the railing than were walking about the halls. Although it made Minako's search much easier, how could one pick out Kyodai out of a crowd of literally thousands of noisy people? 'God, please let Kyodai be here,' she prayed as she continued her valiant search while walking along the railing.

Moments later, Minako arrived at the fountain in the center of the mall; a place where she figured would be an excellent central meeting place. She leaned over the balcony and began scanning all the people on the first floor, searching for any black-haired male wearing clothing that came anything close to resembling Kyodai's. After only a moment of searching, the long, black hair of a gentleman caught Minako's attention from the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to his direction, finding none other than Kyodai sitting on a bench next to the fountain. With her heart racing like she had just run the Tokyo Marathon, mostly from anxiety from thoughts of Kyodai being upset at her for leaving him, she decided to take the bold approach. So she leaned over the railing and called out to him loud enough for all the thousands of people on the first and second floors in the center of the mall to easily hear her, "Kyodai-kun?"

Kyodai glanced up and turned toward the direction of the girl's voice calling out his name for all to hear. There he saw Minako up on the second floor, leaning over the railing, waving at him. And instantly, hints of relief began invading his mind and body as he saw Minako's bright smile accompanying her wave. And as he quickly stood up upon seeing Minako, she quickly pushed herself off the railing and began dashing toward a nearby escalator like an Olympic sprinter, not even caring who she was bumping into.

Kyodai too began running toward the same escalator, breaking and running around people along the way, yet more carefully than Minako was on her journey. He quickly made it to the escalator and began running up it, squeezing by a few people on his way up. Minako too had reached the top of the escalator and began running down, trying desperately to squeeze around a couple snuggling up on the escalator. Once they neared each other toward the middle of the escalator, Minako grabbed the moving handrail and vaulted herself over the dividers and onto the other escalator with such athleticism, landing in Kyodai's open arms and nearly knocking the star soccer player into the people behind him.

On their way up, Minako wrapped her arms tightly around Kyodai's waist, squeezing him with every bit of love, regret, and anxiety that had weighed heavily on her mind since even before her battle with the youmas and soldiers. She then buried her face into his chest, with tears coming to her eyes, 'Oh my God, Kyodai-kun. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for running out on you. Please forgive┘"

"...Shhhh," Kyodai interrupted as they reached the top of the escalator and stepped off, with his finger over his lips before gently placing it over hers, "I should be the one to apologize. I was just as guilty." Minako looked up at him from his chest, showing him her tear-  
filled blue eyes. And just as quickly, they softly kissed one another as a small crowd of nearby onlookers cheered for them, whistled at them, and even applauded their overly dramatic display of affection. After a short, gentle, and blissful kiss, Kyodai broke, "I forgive you Minako-  
chan."

"I forgive you too," said Minako, releasing Kyodai's waist and throwing her arms over his shoulders and pulling him into another kiss. Again, this rather affectionate display of forgiveness drew out a number of cheers and applause from even more onlookers. After another short and blissful moment, they break their kiss as the onlookers continued to cheer. Kyodai turned to them and took his bow before taking Minako by the hand and leading her back down the escalator. "So where next, Minako-chan?" Kyodai asked.

"Weren't we supposed to go to the department store to look at men's coats and women's dresses?" Minako replied, reminding Kyodai of their earlier plans.

"Yes," Kyodai replied, "But what about after that?"

Minako took a quick glance at her watch, which read 2:45, "We still have plenty of time. So anywhere you want, Kyodai-kun."

Once at the bottom of the escalator, the couple walked more casually in the direction of the department store, carefully blending with the crowds of people. Minako wrapped one arm around Kyodai's while her free hand grabbed onto Kyodai's as the couple made their way through the crowd. Along the way, Kyodai thought felt a massive wave of relief take him over, as if Minako throwing herself into his arms and their passionate kisses weren't enough. All his worries about Minako being upset at him for leaving her had been completely washed away, making him feel so much more at ease about what lied ahead on their date. Thoughts about his big surprise for tonight once again seeped into his mind, which made him decide that the department store was to be their last stop for the day, albeit while taking their time there.

Once inside, Kyodai remembered what exactly he was doing in the moments before he sensed the danger that had prompted him to transform into Tuxedo Inferno. So he casually led Minako through the first floor of the department store and up and escalator. Few words were spoken between them during their entire trip through the mall and into the store. Instead, they enjoyed each other's company in silence, letting their love for one another speak for itself. Once on the second floor, Kyodai led Minako to the men's department and to the coats that he had earlier browsed.

He let Minako go and went straight for the maroon blazer and maroon double-breasted coat. Minako watched as Kyodai removed his sport coat, showing his white long-sleeve button-up, and slid into the Maroon blazer. He buttoned it up and made minor adjustments to its fit and finish before he turned to Minako to show it off, "What do you think, Minako-chan?"

"It looks great on you, Kyodai-kun," said Minako.

"Thank you," he replied as he unbuttoned it and took it off. He placed it back on its hanger, set it aside, and grabbed the double-breasted coat. He then slid into that coat in the same manner as he had slid into the blazer. He carefully buttoned it and wiggled his shoulders and arms inside it, testing out and making minor adjustments to its fit. Once comfortable in it and satisfied with its finish, he turned back to Minako, "How about this one?"

Minako only giggled at his attempt at showing everything off like a male fashion model, "Kyodai-kun, they both look great on you."

Kyodai let a sweat drop hang from his head in response more to his showing off rather than Minako's giggling at it. So, completely satisfied with his selections, he took the double-breasted coat off and placed it back on its hanger. He then selected a few ties to go with them, mostly red, lavender, and purple ones. He showed each of them to Minako, pairing them with one of his coats by laying the ties on them. And Minako responded to how each looked with the maroon coats by either nodding or shaking her head. Once he had selected a fair number of ties with Minako's help, Kyodai took them to the clerk and paid for them. Once he backed the, Minako took his hand into hers and led him to the women's section. Minako had to put up with looking at men's clothes, even if it was with Kyodai. It was only fair that he put up with looking at women's clothes.

So Minako let go of his hand and jogged over to one of the racks displaying some fine-made summer dresses. Minako always enjoyed looking at all the dresses, and even trying most of them on and showing them off to the girls like she was a fashion model on the runway. However, Minako had already spent some of her allowance on her CD's and had only enough left for one dress. On top of that, she wasn't showing the dresses off to the other girls this time, but rather a handsome college student who seemed to have more sophisticated tastes than her friends did. So Minako decided to compromise between trendy fashion and sophistication and grabbed a few dresses to try on.

"Come on, Kyodai-kun," she said, taking his hand and leading him toward one of the fitting rooms where he could wait. Once there, she walked inside with the dresses, while Kyodai patiently waited. Moments later, Minako emerged, wearing a darling little orange and yellow print dress with capped sleeves and an empire waist. This dress was more of a daytime dress, one she could wear just to look very lady-like on get-  
togethers with friends and even casual dates. Kyodai examined her from head to toe, noting its fit and finish and how the dress brought out her features, especially when she was wearing her trademark red bow. "It looks beautiful on you," he commented.

Minako only twirled, letting he skirt spread out as she spun around, then winked at Kyodai before she walked back to the fitting room. When at the door, she peeked over her shoulder back at Kyodai, "You'll love this next one." Moments later, Minako emerged from the fitting room, and Kyodai's eyes popped wide open, his jaw dropped, and his heart palpitated at what he saw. Minako had emerged wearing a beautiful pleated ivory halter dress, with an empire waist and a rhinestone buckle, and the skirt cut just slightly above her knees. Even with her red bow, Kyodai was totally mesmerized by just how perfect that dress looked on her and how pleasantly attractive it made her, so much that he could do little but stare at her.

"See, I told you so," Minako replied, giggling as she walked up to him. She gently laid her arms over his shoulders and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, thanking him for such an overwhelmingly delightful response to her choice of dress.

"You're welcome, beautiful," Kyodai replied after they broke her kiss. It wasn't until she had let him go and made her way back into the fitting room that he had begun examining her dress, showing much of her bare back above the small of her back. Even though he was examining only the back of her dress before she had went inside, he had also taken note of what he had seen when she emerged. The dress fit her body perfectly, bringing out her adolescent yet well-defined curves. It was perfect for a more romantic date with a guy, and was probably what Minako had in mind for a future date.

After trying on numerous dresses and showing them off to Kyodai, Minako had a more casual daytime dress picked out and led Kyodai to the clerk where she spent nearly the last of her allowance on it. After placing her nicely folded new dress in a bag, Minako looked up at Kyodai, "I'm ready to go now. How about you?"

"I'm ready if you are," Kyodai replied as he held arm out for Minako. She wrapped her free arm around his waist in response and laid her head on his shoulder as Kyodai wrapped his arm around Minako's. They then began to make their way out of the department store, again with few words spoken between them. Once outside, Kyodai gazed at his watch, 5:01p.m. 'Wow, we've been shopping this long?' he thought to himself, 'I'd better begin letting her in on my surprise.'

As they started down the parking lot and toward his car, Kyodai turned to Minako, "You know, Minako-chan, I haven't forgotten about my surprise."

"Oh, I can't wait," she replied, "What is it?"

"You'll see," Kyodai replied, smiling at the beautiful blonde.

As they continued walking down the parking lot toward Kyodai's car, curiosity struck Kyodai as they were nearing the place where Obake had earlier parked. So Kyodai caught a quick peek to see if his brand new Civic was still there. However, as he quickly scanned about the cars, none of them resembled Obake's. 'I guess he must've left sometime while I was out fighting that soldier alongside the Sailor Team,' Kyodai thought to himself as he turned his attention back to Minako and their walk toward his own car.

Once they spotted his old coupe, Kyodai led Minako to the passenger side, where he slid his key into the lock and opened the door for Minako. He took Minako's bags off of her hands as she let go of him and climbed inside. Kyodai then walked around to the rear hatch, and saw Minako unlocking his door for him from the inside. He then opened the hatchback and placed his and Minako's bags inside, yet hanging on to the bag with his new CD's. Once he shut the hatchback, he walked to the driver's side and merely opened the door and climbed inside, "Thank you, Minako-chan?"

"You're welcome, Kyodai-kun," Minako replied, "It's the least I can do for you opening the door for me so many times."

Once inside, Kyodai quickly scanned through his new CD's and chose as Minako was buckling her seat belt. In no time at all, he chose one to listen to on his trip to his surprise for Minako and hastily removed the wrapping from it. He then opened his portable CD player, removed his R&B CD from it and placed his new CD inside. Once he closed the CD player, he took his CD case from under his seat and slid it back inside. He then buckled up and slid the key into the ignition to start the engine. Once started, he turned the stereo on and turned his CD player on. Once he shifted into reverse and began backing out, some light melodic music enveloped began playing, filling the car with beautiful ambient music accompanied by the sounds of the ocean.

"Wow, this is beautiful music," Minako commented as she closed her eyes and let the music flood her conscious.

"Yes, I think so too," Kyodai replied as she shifted into first and began to make his way out of the crowded parking lot. Such a task proved much easier than finding a place to park, not having to fight other drivers quite as much. So Kyodai sat back and let the new oceanic music soothe him as he continued on his more leisurely drive. He had plenty of time to cruise about on his way to his surprise Minako.

"What kind of music is this?" Minako asked, "I've never heard this kind of music before."

"This is a type of ambient music, more like ocean-inspired space music," Kyodai explained, "Something had gotten me into various kinds of world-inspired and nature-inspired ambient music."

"Oh? Like what?" said Minako, still with her eyes closed and letting both the music and Kyodai's explanation flow into her mind.

"I don't know, "Kyodai replied, "It's like something from my past, or rather a distant past of sorts, that got me interested in ambient music. I don't remember where, but it's like it was from a dream or something."

"Hmmm... sounds like it might've been something your mother might have listened to when you were a baby," Minako guessed.

"I'm not sure," said Kyodai, "I know Rei sometimes listens to ambient music as well, but as for me, I just don't remember very well where my appreciation for ambient music came from, nor can I really explain it very well either.

"Either way, it's beautiful music," said Minako, her eyes not once opening. Kyodai took his time driving to his destination, wanting to let the music soothe both him and Minako during their trip. After his explanation of the music, Minako sat completely silent throughout the remainder of the trip, letting the music and Kyodai's presence completely relax her body and mind and fill her with a feeling of great warmth. Although it didn't look like it to Kyodai, his sixth sense could easily pick up the aura of Minako's curiosity and anxiety. And with the clock in his car reading 6:00p.m., Kyodai turned at an intersection near his destination and decided to end their leisurely cruise.

"Hey Minako-chan," said Kyodai as he reached his destination and entered its parking lot.

"Yes, Kyodai-kun?" Minako replied, not even opening her eyes as another track began playing.

"You can open your eyes now. We're here," said Kyodai.

When Minako opened her eyes and glanced through the windshield, she immediately noticed that they had arrived at the same movie theater they had visited on their first date. "Wow, a movie," Minako said gleefully.

"Remember that movie I told you about last week?" said Kyodai.

"'The Starlight Warrior'?" Minako remembered.

"Exactly," Kyodai replied, trying to let Minako guess his surprise for herself.

"But, the theaters have been flooded all day," said Minako, "There's no way you're going to get tickets. They've all been sold out all day."

"Look in the glove box," said Kyodai, pointing to it.

Almost as quickly as he had said it, Minako opened the glove box. And immediately, her eyes opened wide and she nearly swooned when she discovered two tickets for 'The Starlight Warrior' 7:30 show. She took the tickets into her hands and held them to her chest.

"Oh Kyodai-kun," she said, becoming completely speechless.

Kyodai quickly found an open parking spot and slid his car into it. As he turned the engine off, Minako unbuckled her seatbelt and she threw her arms tightly around him and kissed him deeply and passionately.

"You're welcome," said Kyodai, getting her message. Minako let go of him and quickly opened her door to let herself out, her excitement over the movie driving her. Once Kyodai stepped out, Minako once again threw herself on him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. After another brief embrace, the couple began making their trek toward the theater with Minako's arms wrapped tightly around his one arm. "How on Earth did you get your hands on those tickets?" she asked.

"I had to stand in line for over an hour after soccer practice yesterday to get a hold of these," said Kyodai.

"You did that for me?" she said as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, "That was really sweet of you."

Once they arrived in front of the theater, they discovered a very long line as hundreds, possibly even thousands, of people had also gathered to see this highly-acclaimed movie. This long line came as no surprise to either of them, so they merely took their places in line and waited patiently, even though the movie wasn't going to start for another hour. Minako wrapped her arms around Kyodai's waist and holds him close to her as the line moved along at a snail's pace.

"Hey Kyodai, did you know Makoto likes you too," said Minako, remembering her competition with Makoto.

"Really now?" Kyodai replied, wondering why she was bringing up the subject, "Come to think of it, she sure does act like it whenever you're with me."

"And Usagi seems to like you a little as an acquaintance," Minako added, "It might have to do with your friendship with Mamoru and your relation to Rei."

"Usagi seems like a nice young lady. Yet, I still can't believe some jock just ditched her like that," Kyodai said, remembering about the guy who dumped Usagi before his and Minako's first date, then going back to Minako's statement, "I thought she didn't like Mamoru."

"Well, it may not look like it, but I think she has a thing for him, even though he calls her 'Odango Atama'," Minako explained, "She just doesn't like to show it in front of very many people."

"Yeah, Mamoru never told me much about her until Rei brought her up in front of him and me," said Kyodai, "Even though he and I have been best friends since high school, that man still has plenty of mysteries."

"So what we're you like in high school?" Minako asked, curious.

"Well, like I said last week, I was the star player on Juuban's soccer team. I was also the class Salutatorian," Kyodai replied.

"Smart and athletic? That's something I don't see much of that, not even at my school," Minako commented.

"I was what most people would call a 'Scholar Athlete'. I was on the Emperor's Honor Roll for 3 consecutive years. I was a Class Representative for my Junior and Senior years. I also received a full scholarship to Azabu Tech," Kyodai explained, "They offered me both academic and soccer scholarships."

"So you were more of a prep than a jock," said Minako.

"I was certainly no jock, although wasn't really a nerd either," said Kyodai.

"So why don't you live at the college anymore?" Minako asked.

"Well, dorm life at the college was interesting, to say the least," Kyodai explained, "Some of the students there liked to party and go on dates with girls. I didn't participate in that too much, though, as I had spent most of my time either studying or at soccer practice. I did enjoy college life for a short time, though. However, so much of my time was spent at the college that I didn't get to see Rei that much. I haven't lived with her since before I graduated from Juuban Junior High when I moved in with our Aunt Ryeka and Uncle Saki. I missed her... and Grandpa too."

"It's great that you're close to your sister," said Minako. "You know, it would be a pain in the butt if I had younger brother around, always bothering me, teasing me about boyfriends, complaining about being on the phone..."

Kyodai only heard half of Minako's explanation as those very same thoughts about Rei began flooding his mind. He thought about all the times he and Rei had their arguments over Rei bothering him while he was studying, Rei teasing him about bringing home a girl from school even though he wasn't dating her, and Rei bring a pain in the ass. It was something that only those with younger siblings, be they a brother or sister, could truly identify with. Although there were the many times that Rei pestered him, there were also the tender moments they shared. Thoughts about Rei crying over some girl bullying her at school and coming to him for comfort, times when she just wanted someone to hug her tightly, and most of all the memories they both shared of their mother and their mutual dislike of their father also weighed on his mind. Even funnier moments like the pranks they played on one another, times they wrestled, and times they ganged up on Grandpa made Kyodai smile. "Yeah, I can't imagine not having a sister like Rei," said Kyodai.

After a nearly half-hour wait, they finally made it into the vast theater and handed the doorman their tickets. "Theater 7, enjoy the movie," he said, pointing in the direction of Theater 7 and handing the couple their ticket stubs.

"Thank you sir," Kyodai replied as he quickly swam through the crowd toward theater 7, with Minako hanging on to his arm. Although the theater was crowded, they merely just moved along with the flow of other people also heading to theater 7. Once inside, they slowly walked down one of the aisles, looking for not only some empty seats, but ones perfect for them to enjoy the movie whilst in each other's company. And nearly as quickly as they had begun their search, they found those perfect seats in one of the rows further back. So they quickly slid by some of the people already sitting in their seats and took those empty seats. Once they settled in, Kyodai laid his arm over Minako's shoulders as she leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder as the theater quickly filled to capacity. And there, they waited for the movie to start.

_Meanwhile, back at the Hikawa Jinja..._

Rei had just finished her fire reading sweating very heavily. What she had seen provoked a great anxiety; causing her to breathe heavily and her heart beat at the inside of her chest. With the revelation from her fire reading fresh on her mind, she ran out of the worship room and through the shrine's halls, nearly running into Romano along the way. Romano's eye's popped wide open at the site of the speedy miko and quickly jumped out of her way as if she was one of his soccer opponents, "Hey Rei-san, watch where you're running."

"Sorry, Romano," she called out behind her as she ran into her room and shut the door. She then scurried to her desk and grabbed her communicator and attempted to call all the senshi, but hesitated. She had just realized that Minako was still on her date with Kyodai. Ripping Minako away would not only have made Minako very upset with her for interrupting her date, but also break her brother's heart from his date being cut short. So instead, she decided to contact Luna and have her deal with the senshi. She pressed the button to open a channel to her, prompting the crescent-headed cat's face to appear on the screen.

"Luna, call emergency senshi meeting," she said, "Minako-chan's with Kyodai right now and I suggest that she not be bothered. We've already cut her date short once today, and I'd feel bad for both her and my brother if we did it again."

"At the shrine?" Luna asked, puzzled as to why she's calling a meeting so suddenly.

"Yes, at the shrine," Rei responded.

"Okay, Rei-chan. I'll make sure the others show up," said Luna.

"Please don't cut my brother's bate with her short," Rei reminded, still sweating profusely with her heart beating at her chest, "We can fill her in later."

"I understand," said Luna before her face disappeared from Rei's communicator. With the meeting set and the others on their way, Rei placed her communicator back in her desk, walked over to her bed, and lied down. There, she closed her eyes and tried to collect her thoughts. She certainly didn't like what she had seen, enough to the point that the others had to know immediately. It was already 7:30 in the evening, as shown by her alarm clock, with the sun barely hovering above the western horizon. So she began wondering if perhaps it was not such a good idea to call an emergency senshi meeting so late in the evening, when most day people like her and her friends would be setting down. Nevertheless, she had seen something potentially dangerous not only to those in Tokyo, but more so the sailor senshi themselves.

Within 15 minutes of her call to Luna, there was a knock at her door, "It's open."

The door slid open and Romano's face peeked inside, "Rei-san, you have visitors."

Immediately, Rei threw her legs over the side of the bed and stood. "Good, they're here," she said as she walked to her door, "Thank you, Romano."

"You're welcome, Rei-san," he replied as he stepped out of her way.

"We'll be busy, so please don't bother us," she said as she left her room and made her way toward the living room.

"Yes, Rei-san, I know the drill," Romano replied as he turned and headed back to his own room. Although he was oblivious to the true content of these meetings, Romano had grown accustomed to meetings where Rei and her friends had some kind of important matters to discuss, as have Gabianni and Yuuichirou. So Romano often stayed in his room and turned on his television to tune out their girl talk when Rei held senshi meetings at the shrine.

When Rei walked into the living room, she discovered that all but Usagi and Minako had shown up at the temple. She only hung her head, trembling slightly in frustration. 'Damn her, she's late again,' she thought to herself, referring to Usagi.

"What is it Rei-chan?" Ami asked, quickly breaking Rei from her frustration. But before Rei could answer her question, Usagi suddenly dashed into the living room from outside, sweating profusely and panting heavily like she had just run at a track meet. Once she caught her breath, she gently removed her shoes at the door and walked toward the middle of the room to join Ami and Makoto.

"Usagi, late as usual," Rei commented, looking up at Usagi, "Don't you understand the meaning of 'emergency meeting'?"

"Sorry, Rei-chan, I ran into Mamoru on my way here and..." said Usagi.

"I don't want to hear about it," Rei interrupted.

"But he's such a bully. Why doesn't he just remember that we were made for each other," she said.

"Enough!" Luna hollered, getting their attention before they could begin sticking their tongues out at each other. With the bickering swiftly quelled, all 4 girls then sat around the small coffee table in the middle of the room in the traditional Japanese fashion.

"So what was the emergency?" Makoto asked.

"What did you find?" Ami also asked.

"The Dark Kingdom has sent someone after us. I don't know who..." Rei replied.

"I bet it's that Tuxedo Inferno," Makoto interrupted, her suspicions getting the best of her, as usual.

"Maybe not," said Ami, "The Dark Kingdom activity explains why they've been sending soldiers as well as their youmas in the past couple of weeks."

"Tuxedo Inferno did help us the past three times he's crossed our paths," said Usagi.

"Maybe he is on our side," suggested Ami.

"Or maybe he's an agent of the Dark Kingdom trying to trick us," Makoto added.

"I don't know what is going on, but I do believe they have placed a price on our heads, or on someone else's," said Rei.

"So they're probably sending someone like a bounty hunter," said Ami.

"Maybe they're after Tuxedo Mask again like they were last time," said Usagi.

"Or one of us, or all of us, or maybe even someone close to us," said Makoto.

"The only one I know who is close to us is Kyodai," said Rei.

"Not true," Ami disagreed, "There's Naru, Umino, our families..."

"What would they want with Kyodai?" said Usagi, cutting Ami off, "He's not even a senshi."

"But he is Rei-chan's brother," said Ami, "And sending someone after him could make a great lure."

"They'll most likely make a direct attack," said Luna, "If that person they're sending wants to find us, then he'll attack the people and lure us to him."

"Mako-chan, I still have nothing on Tuxedo Inferno, so he's probably not an enemy," said Rei, "But the fact that I'm getting nothing on him is what's making Tuxedo Inferno such a mystery to us."

"Is that all Rei-chan?" Luna asked.

"That's all," Rei responded.

"Keep your communicators and pins handy," said Usagi, "I hope they don't attack tonight. We're short one senshi until Minako-chan calls us from her date with Kyodai."

Rei merely hung her head, sweat drop hanging, "Wow, Usagi actually said something useful for a change."

Usagi only glared at her in response before turning toward the front door to leave, followed by Ami and Makoto.

"Usagi?" Rei called, stopping Usagi in her tracks as she turned to her, "Please fill Minako in on our meeting when she calls from her date with Kyodai."

Usagi smiled, "Of course, Rei-chan." With that, she and the others left the shrine, leaving Rei with a few worries off of her mind, yet her worries over the possible bounty hunter still weighing heavily. She let out a discontented sigh before she turned and walked back to her room.

_Back at the Theater..._

Minako and Kyodai sat in the crowded movie theater, with Kyodai's arm wrapped around the back of her shoulders and Minako lying her head on his shoulder and her arm lying across his chest. And just as the couple had begun to get cozy, the lights in the theater slowly dimmed as the movie began. Over the next two hours, the couple sat together silently, cuddled together as the movie transpired. It was a movie with action, adventure, and romance, just as it was advertised on TV and in the theaters. During a romance scene involving the main character and his love, Minako pulled herself even closer to Kyodai and nestled her head against the crook of his neck. Kyodai turned his face to hers and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead in response, and gave her a gentle and affectionate squeeze before turning back to the movie.

"Great Movie," Minako whispers to Kyodai, careful as not to disturb the other viewers.

"Tell me about it," Kyodai whispered back.

During an intense action scene involving the main character and the central villain, Minako tightly clutched on to Kyodai in near fear, as did most of the couples in the theater. Such a scary scene not only made Minako clutch Kyodai tightly, her nails digging into his coat, but also made her bury her face into his shoulder to hide from the scary scene. As the movie neared its climax, Minako began to really squeeze Kyodai, both arms wrapped tightly around his waist, as a battle raged on between the main character and the central villain.

She once again buried her face into Kyodai's shoulder, not even bearing to see the horror of the good guy losing the battle. It was something that she had always feared as both Sailor V and Sailor Venus, the day that she would lose the battle. In fact, she had suffered that defeat once, as Sailor V. And it was the event occurring after the battle, involving her former love Allan and her surrogate sister Katarina, that had forced her to retire from fighting as Sailor V. So she easily identified with the main character losing the battle, as she too had lost in battle and lost her love along with it.

"Minako-chan, look," said Kyodai. Minako looked back up at the screen as the battle was coming to its conclusion. It ended with the bad guy defeated and the good guy badly wounded, with his love by his side. As with most of the girls in the theater, Minako's eyes began to fill with tears as the good guy died and his love gave him her parting speech. It was indeed the saddest scene of the movie; the Starlight Warrior dying for his love, and doing what he had always done best, fighting for what was right. It reminded her of the reasons she returned to fighting for love and justice as Sailor Venus. It wasn't only because a talking white cat named Artemis had convinced her to, but also because it was who she was and it was the right thing to do. And at the end of the movie, everybody stood up from their seats and began their struggle to exit the theater.

After a few moments of struggling through the crowds, Kyodai and Minako finally make it out of the theater and begin their trip toward his car, with few words spoken between them. However, once they arrived at the passenger side of his car, she quickly turned to Kyodai, threw her arms over his shoulders and around his neck, and pulled him close, "That was such a great movie."

"It was just as they said it was gonna be, wasn't it? said Kyodai. "It kinda reminds me of those Sailor V stories I've heard so much about, fighting for what is right, kind of like the knights during the times of chivalry."

Those kind words about Sailor V made Minako smile. Although some of the movie's scenes did remind her of her tougher and more tragic trials as Sailor V, it also reminded her of all the good she had done and the impact she had on the people. And it was those thoughts that made her pull Kyodai's lips to hers as she softly kissed him. And moments later, she deepened it with much love and passion, silently showing Kyodai her appreciation for his kind remarks, and for showing her such a great movie. After a passionate moment with him, she broke their kiss let him go as Kyodai opened the door for her. Minako climbed inside, buckled up, and closed her eyes, letting the warm feelings from the night completely overtake her as Kyodai climbed inside the driver's seat.

He started his engine and pressed the play button on his portable CD player, resuming the ocean-inspired ambient music. With the music creating a relaxing atmosphere inside his car, Kyodai pulled out and took his place in line to leave the theater's parking lot. The traffic in the parking lot was quite heavy, with crowds of people and cars leaving and even more filing in, most of them coming to see 'The Starlight Warrior.'

Minutes later, Kyodai makes it out of the theater and begins his leisurely trip back toward Minako's house. Few words were spoken between them throughout their trip, letting the ambient music soothe their souls. In addition, they were both quite tired from such an eventful day, with their time at the park, their time at the mall, their battle as Sailor Venus and Tuxedo Inferno, their department store shopping, and finally the movie taking a lot out of the couple. Although they were quite relaxed, they were also too tired to say much to each other. Only Minako gently caressing Kyodai's left arm was what she had thought he needed to let him know that few words were needed to make his trip back to Minako's with the beautiful blonde quite enjoyable. As for Kyodai, just having her there was enough for him as he smiled at her gesture.

After a long trip through town, they make it to Minako's house just as the clock in his car read 10:30pm. He pulled up into Minako's driveway and shut off his engine. Minako unbuckled her seatbelt and merely sat there, totally relaxed, as Kyodai walked around the front of his car to her side. He then opened the passenger door to let her out. And like a true gentleman, he walked her all the way to the front door. Once there, she turned to Kyodai, her beautiful blue eyes meeting Kyodai's.

"Thank you Kyodai-kun, for everything," Minako said as she placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him. She then wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close as they kissed again with much deeper emotion. With that passionate French kiss, they sealed the ending their night together. They then break their kiss, and Minako turned and opened her front door.

"Good night Minako-chan," said Kyodai, stopping Minako at the threshold of her door.

"Good night Kyodai-kun," said Minako, smiling and winking, as she closed the door.

Kyodai smiled as he turned around and walked back to his car. And on his way, he winced at the joyful squeals and cheers that filled the house and yard, obviously coming from Minako. He let out a heavy sigh at that sound and smiled, thinking to himself, 'Well, at least she enjoyed our date too.' With such a wonderful night fresh on his mind, aside from that soldier's interruption, he hopped back into his car. He turned his engine on, and then his portable CD player, filling the inside of his car with the beautiful sounds and music of the ocean. The then pulled out of Minako's driveway and drove off, back toward the Hikawa Jinja.

_end of chapter 2_

* * *

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Russell Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno (Y2V)


	3. Chapter 3: Enter Titanius

Title: Five-Alarm Fire - Chapter 3

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG

* * *

**Five-Alarm Fire **

_By Viper Inferno_

Chapter 3

_The next day, at the Dark Kingdom headquarters..._

Queen Beryl sat quietly at her throne, slowly waving her hands around her crystal ball as her many minions watched from the walls of the throne room. With her crystal, she had projected in the air in front of her various moving images of the people of Tokyo carrying on with their lives. Scenes ranged from the streets of the Juuban District, to Juuban Park, to the Tokyo Tower, to Tokyo Disneyland, to even a soccer game in progress. Beryl examined each of them carefully, seeking out a target for her next attack as her minions silently watched on.

"Well, well, well," said Beryl to her minions, "Just look at all those people carrying on with their pitiful little lives, oblivious to their vulnerability. What a perfect opportunity to attack this is."

Her minions only nodded to her in agreement, not daring to interrupt her thoughts. She had thought about the bounty she had sent out, and the rather small response she had gotten from it. However, the thought of having a powerful bounty hunter who was once of the Dark Kingdom gave her hope, figuring his former loyalty would play a key role in motivating him to rid her of the Mars Prince and the Sailor Team, as if the money involved wasn't enough. She then turned back to the projected images and thought about how perfect of an opportunity it would be to lure those sailor senshi out in the open and attack them. And in the process, she would also lure the Mars Prince as well. And with that plan in mind, she tapped on her crystal ball with her index finger, causing the floating image to disappear.

"Jadeite, Zoisite, Titanius, get your asses in here," Beryl harshly summoned.

Within moments, Jadeite and Zoisite teleported into Queen Beryl's throne room almost in perfect unison and bowed politely to their queen. However, Titanius took much longer to arrive, as he walked into the throne room no longer than 15 seconds after Queen Beryl's summons. "You summoned, Queen Beryl-sama," he said, bowing to her along with the other 2. With 3 of her minions assembled, Beryl began her briefing.

"I have a mission for you. It's time to see just how powerful you are, Titanius," said Beryl.

"He's powerful, Queen Beryl-sama," Jadeite reassured, "I've seen him in action many years ago before our first attack on the Moon. He'll stand a great chance against those senshi."

"That's what I'm counting on," said Beryl, "I want to lure those sailor senshi into battle on purpose so Titanius can take them out."

"So where do we want to lure them?" Zoisite inquired.

"It's a Sunday morning. The people will be all around town," Jadeite responded, "Downtown Tokyo sounds like a good place. The urban landscape will bottle them all in and make the fight easier."

"The park is another good place since there're a lot of people flocking there. It's a perfect opportunity to steal their energy," said Zoisite.

"Great idea," said Jadeite, "You can probably possess some of them too and make it harder for the senshi to take the youma on."

"But you'll have to concentrate on that pretty little brat, Sailor Moon," Beryl rebuts, "She'll be able to heal them in no time."

"That'll also bring in that little prince of hers too," Jadeite added.

"Wherever you send me, and whoever shows, I'm ready to take anything on," said Titanius, "They and the Mars Prince will be a good challenge for me on my first mission."

"Then it's settled. Zoisite, send one of my youma to the park," Beryl ordered, "We'll lure those senshi in, as well as those pesky princes. Jadeite, you stay here and collect the energy that the youma steals. As for you, Titanius, get yourself ready and wait for my order to attack," Beryl orders.

With that, Titanius and Jadeite stood by while Zoisite summoned a powerful youma and sent it to the park. With the youma on his way, Beryl tapped her crystal ball again and projected a large image of the park between her and the 3 men. As they watched on, they hoped that their plan would work to not only gather some much-needed energy for their Great Leader, but also rid themselves of the Mars Prince and the Sailor Team when they show up.

_The Hikawa Jinja..._

"Kyodai, time to get up," Rei called into Kyodai's room.

Kyodai groaned and began stirring around under his sheets and blanket. With thoughts about last night's big date with Minako on his mind and lingering in his dreams, he did not want to wake up. Instead, he wanted to stay in that dream, reliving last night's date. Although it was his second date with the beautiful blonde, it represented the first girl he had dated in a little over a year, even if she was 4 years younger than he was. He certainly had grown to appreciate her energy, whether it's her overly flirtatious moves or her more subtle advances. Then, thoughts of her in that ivory halter dress invaded his mind. 'She looked so beautiful in that dress. That's a sight I will definitely cherish for a long time,' he thought to himself as snuggled himself under his blankets even more, 'Although she has her overly giddy and flirtatious moments, she sure knows how to be a sophisticated young lady. She's not quite like most other younger girls who've thrown themselves at me. And she's leagues ahead of Ariana.'

Suddenly, his door slid partially open as Rei peeked her head inside, "Come on, Kyodai. It's 10:21, time to get up."

"But I wanna sleep in," said Kyodai.

"That's because you've been out too damn long last night, silly," said Rei, "You're gonna miss brunch."

Kyodai lifted his head from his pillows, his sheets and blanket still covering his boxer-clad body, and sniffed the air. Immediately, he picked up the fine morning aroma of sausage cooking. "I smell sausage. What're you trying to cook?"

"Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage," Rei replied, but quickly caught on to her brother's sarcasm, "Don't worry, Gabianni's helping me. We'll have some milk and orange juice, too."

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up, he said as he sat up in his bed, letting his blanket fall to his waist. However, he was still in only his boxers and Rei was still in his room. "Hey Rei, I need a shower," said Kyodai, waving his hand at Rei to shoo her out.

"That's why I'm waking you up now, so they'll be ready by the time you use up all the hot water," Rei said sarcastically, "See 'ya, Kyodai."

With Rei out of his room, Kyodai threw his blanket and sheets aside and swung his feet around and to the floor. Thoughts of Minako still swam through his mind, thoughts about their shopping at the mall, their date being cut short by that Dark Kingdom soldier at the park, and the movie afterwards. "Damn, I do need to hose myself down," Kyodai muttered to himself under his breath as he rose from his bed and walked out of his room, in the direction of the bathroom. Once inside, he turned the water on and waited for it to get to the right temperature.

Moments later, as the water heated up to a hot yet comfortable temperature, Kyodai striped off his boxers and stepped inside. "Ahhh, perfect," Kyodai said to himself as he relaxed under the showerhead. As the comfortably hot water soaked his long hair and streamed down his body, thoughts about last night with Minako once again filled his mind. The first thoughts to come were those about the park, about how carefree and full of energy Minako seems to be. However, the time at the mall could've been better if it wasn't for that Dark Kingdom soldier wreaking havoc back at Juuban Park. But at least his date wasn't ruined as he and Minako showed off some of their best fashions to one another. Then finally, thoughts about their movie date flooded his mind as he thought to himself, 'Ah, the movie with Minako. That was a great movie though, and I spent it with a great girl like her. She does kind of remind me of Ariana, though. But at least Minako has some class to her, and can be a real lady instead of a ditzy airhead. She looks so damn good too, especially in that ivory halter dress she showed me. And she's athletic too; she'd make a great cheerleader if she wanted to with all that energy she has.' Kyodai's thoughts about that night continued, once again focusing on the movie and especially their long kiss afterwards. All of a sudden, a burning sensation broke him from his trance, "AAAGGGHHH!" He leaped back from the near scalding hot water, almost colliding with the wall. Once away from the intense heat, he then heard that the toilet had been flushed.

"Sorry, Kyodai. I just couldn't resist," said Rei, giggling at him.

"I'm gonna pound you, you little brat," Kyodai snarls.

Rei only giggled again at his displeasure as she dashed out of the bathroom. With Rei gone, Kyodai quickly washed his hair and the rest of his body before the water would cool down. Once finished in near record time, he shut the water off and stepped out of the shower. He first dried his long hair, taking his time to soak up all the water from his long jet black hair. He then wrapped the towel around his waist and marched out of the bathroom and over to his room. There, he finished drying his body off and threw the towel aside. Then, he opened his wardrobe and began browsing through his rather diverse collection. "Hmmm, what to wear," he said to himself as he browsed. And almost as quickly as he had opened his wardrobe, he pulled out a red button-up shirt and a pair of black jeans.

Moments later, fully dressed, he walked out of his room and smelled an even stronger aroma of eggs and sausage filling the shrine. He easily concluded that brunch was, all nice and ready. So he followed the smell all the way into the kitchen, where Rei and Gabianni were finishing their cooking. Rei caught him walking in out of the corner of her eye and tunes to him. She once again giggled at him, giggling at her prank of flushing the toilet on him.

"It's not funny Rei," said Kyodai.

"What? I thought it was hilarious," said Rei, "Anyway, brunch is ready anyway. I'll go get Romano, Yuuichirou, and Grandpa." And with that, Rei walked past him, gently brushing herself against his arm in a more sisterly manner, and to the hallway. "Hey Yuuichirou, Romano, Grandpa, brunch is ready," she hollered down the hallway. And as Kyodai was grabbing a few plates to help Gabianni set the breakfast table, the other three filed into the dining area like cattle in a stampede. Rei then walked into the kitchen and grabbed all the finished breakfast items, and took them into the dining area as Kyodai and Gabianni finished setting the table. Once she served them all, she took her place next to Kyodai at the breakfast table, across from Romano and Gabianni. Grandpa sat at the head of the table, with Yuuichirou on the opposite end.

"Wow, Rei, this is actually good," Kyodai commented as he partook in Rei's and Gabianni's American-style breakfast.

"Kyodai!" she said, glaring at him.

"That's because she had me to baby-sit her through her cooking," said Gabianni, "She does a good job when under adult supervision."

"Geez, Gabianni, you too," Rei snarled, glaring at him too.

"Adult supervision or not, Rei-san sure did a good job cooking breakfast for us," said Yuuichirou as he was digging into the scrambled eggs.

"Thank you, Yuuichirou," said Rei, "At least SOMEONE here appreciates my gesture of good will."

"I'm only picking on you," said Kyodai, "Just like you flushing the toilet on me while I was in the shower."

"It kept you from using all the hot water, didn't it?" Rei said, grinning at him mischievously.

"But you did do a great job with breakfast. Thank you, Rei-chan," said Kyodai, surrendering in their friendly little teasing contest.

"You're welcome, Onii-san," said Rei, giving her brother her best smile.

Halfway through breakfast, Rei's communicator begins beeping from her room, loudly enough for all at the breakfast table to hear.

"You've got a pager too, Rei-chan?" said Kyodai, surprised that most of the girls in Rei's group of friends group have pagers.

"Excuse me for a moment," she said as she rose from the breakfast table and walks into her room. Once inside, she slid her door shut and walked over to her desk where she kept her communicator. She removed it and pressed a button and answered it, "Rei here."

"Rei-chan," a voice replied as an image appeared on the screen, revealing the face of a blonde-haired girl with her hair pulled up in a pair of signature dumplings. "I'm at Juuban Park. There's another youma wreaking havoc here, draining the people's energy. I'm sending for the other senshi and transforming."

'Damn, not the Dark Kingdom again,' Rei swore to herself, 'And I was having such a good time enjoying breakfast with Kyodai and the others.' Rei could've easily counted the number of times that her times with her brother not only were cut short by the Dark Kingdom, but will be cut short in the future. And those thoughts only fueled her anger. "I'll be there," said Rei as she shut off her communicator and quickly changed out of her Shinto kimono and into a red t-shirt and black pants. She then walked out of her room and back to the breakfast table. "Guys, I'm sorry to leave you in the middle of brunch, but I have to run an errand for Makoto," she said, coming up with a perfect excuse to cover up her duties as Sailor Mars.

"I understand," said Kyodai "I'll see you later, Imuto-chan. Thank you so much for brunch."

"You're welcome, Onii-san," Rei replied, smiling again as she turned and walked to the front door, "You guys can have what's left on my plate." She then slid on a pair of black flats and walked out the front door of the shrine. Once outside, she quickly turned and ran toward the dojo, knowing that know one was there, and hid inside. Once inside, she took out her transformation pen.

"Mars Power, Make-up!"

Once transformed, Sailor Mars dashed out of the dojo and out of the shrine, running in the direction of Juuban Park.

_Juuban Park..._

After a rather quick senshi power-enhanced run to the park, Sailor Mars arrived at the park to find Sailor Moon gathering groups of children and leading them to safety. She was leading them away from a rather odd-looking youma, a sort of human/octopus hybrid. It had a human torso, head, and arms with the 8 tentacles of an octopus in place of its legs. And in 2 of those tentacles, the youma held a woman hostage as it was draining her energy.  
Sailor Mars knew she couldn't use a fire attack and risk burning the woman. So she leaped over 30 feet in the air, doing a couple of somersaults like those of an Olympic gymnast, and landed on the youma's tentacle, jabbing it with her high heels. With all her weight driving her heel into its tentacle, the youma roared in pain and released its grasp on the woman. The woman fell lifelessly to the ground. And with the youma writhing in pain, Sailor Moon ran up to the woman and pulled her away from the youma and to safety, then withdrew her Moon Stick.

"Moon Healing Escalation!"

She bathed the woman in the pure energy emitted by the Silver Crystal, restoring her life. As the woman began to regain consciousness, Sailor Moon threw the woman's arm over her shoulder, supporting her weight, and carried her out of the battlefield. Moments later, the youma recovered from having one of its tentacles stabbed and wrapped 4 of its uninjured tentacles around Sailor Mars. It then lifted her into the air and began to thrash her about.

Quick to think, Sailor Mars engulfed her hands in flames and began throwing wild punches at the youma's tentacles, desperately trying to get it to release her. But as Sailor Mars charged her right hand with a massive ball of fire to throw the money shot, Sailor Jupiter suddenly flew at the youma from out of nowhere. Her left heel connected with the youma's side, kicking it with bone-shattering force, knocking it to the ground and causing it to release Sailor Mars. Once knocked down, Sailor Jupiter dashed over to the youma and grabbed a hold of its body and lifted it over her head. But as she was about to give it an earth-  
shaking body slam, a few men tackled her from behind, causing her to drop the youma.

Sailor Mars's eyes opened wide in pure amazement. "Oh my god," she gasped as she backed from another group of men and women slowly advancing toward her like zombies. "USAGI!" she summoned fiercely.

Sailor Moon immediately dashed over to Sailor Mars to find out what was happening.  
"That youma's controlling some of the people," Sailor Mars explained.

"It sounds like Kunzite's behind all of this, since I remember he and Zoisite both possessed people," said Sailor Moon as she stood firm next to Sailor Mars, ready to take on the lumbering possessed humans. As one of the men lunged at Sailor Moon, a beam of light struck the man from the side, knocking him out of the air and hard into ground a short distance away from the two senshi. They both turned their heads to find Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus joining them in battle. Sailor Mercury immediately stopped and crossed her arms in front of her, "Shabon Spray!"

She sent a large barrage of bubbles at the possessed people, confusing some of them, making others nauseous, and covering the battlefield in a thick fog. With the battlefield masked, Sailor Moon immediately removed her tiara and charged it up, "Moon Tiara Stardust!" With all her might driving it, she threw her tiara at the group of confused possessed people, healing every one of them in a matter of seconds. With the evil energy purged from their souls, the people all dropped to the ground unconscious.

Meanwhile, the youma had recovered from Sailor Jupiter's earlier attack and grabbed onto both Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter. With both senshi tightly bound in its tentacles, it began to drain away their energy. Fed up with hostage situations, Sailor Mars decided to take things into her own hands as she clasped them together and began forming a large ball of fire at her fingertips.

"Fire Soul!"

She launched a powerful ball of fire at the youma, setting it on fire and scorching her friends in the process.

"Hot, hot, hot," they both yelped as they hit the ground and flailed about. 'Oh well, at least it let them go,' she thought to herself, shrugging. Sailor Venus ran up to both girls and proceeded to walk them out of the way as she glared at Sailor Mars. Sailor Moon too turned to Sailor Mars and glared at her. "Why did you do that? You knew that they would be hit too," she scolded.

"I'm sorry. I had no other choice," Sailor Mars argued, "It was either risk scorching them, or let that youma drain them of all their energy."

However, the youma only grew stronger and more furious as it doubled its own size. It then threw all 8 of its tentacles at the sailor senshi, scattering them about the park as it grew even stronger.

_The Dark Kingdom..._

Zoisite and Titanius stood in front of Queen Beryl in the throne room as they watched the battle unfold on the image projected by her crystal ball. They both smiled in pure delight as their plan to lure the Sailor Team into battle and put them in a pinch seemed to be working. "Good," said Zoisite, "Those sailor senshi are right where we want them."

"Excellent," said Beryl, "I see your youma is actually doing a good job at not only taking it to the sailor senshi but also gathering energy for Jadeite to collect. How we just have to wait for those princes to show up."

The trio of men and Queen Beryl both continued to watch the battle unfold, with Beryl laughing in sheer ecstasy as she watches the youma grab onto Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter and slam them into the ground. "They should be arriving any minute now," Beryl commented before she turned to Titanius, "Titanius, it's time."

"They're as good as mine," Titanius said in a deep voice. He quickly turned and left the throne room. He joined a couple of soldiers waiting outside the throne room and made his way out of the headquarters and on to Tokyo.

_Back at Juuban Park..._

As Titanius was busy making his way toward the battlefield, the Sailor Team had gotten the upper hand as they launched a combined attack at the youma's face, causing it to wince in pain and released the battered Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter. Afterward, Sailor Moon had run over to the two weakened senshi and drew out her Moon Stick and began to heal them and restore their energy. With Sailor Moon busy healing her friends, the Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus combined their attacks against the youma.

"Fire Soul!"

"Crescent Beam!"

The combined attack struck the oversized octopus youma in the face, weakening it and causing it to fall on its back and its tentacles to fall limp. With Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter healed and their energy restored, Sailor Moon returned and stood beside Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus. "Sailor Moon, finish it off," Sailor Venus ordered.

"Right," Sailor Moon replied as she removed her tiara and charged it with her powers.

"Moon Tiara Action!"

With her sailor senshi-enhanced power, she hurled her tiara at the weakened youma, striking it in the chest and disintegrating it in a matter of seconds. With the battle won, the 5 sailor senshi gathered together to conclude their battle. But before any of them could utter a word, a couple soldiers suddenly attacked them, colliding with them and scattering them about. They all recover rather quickly and begin examining what had attacked them.

"Oh no, not two of them," said Sailor Mercury.

"Geez, there's just no end to these guys," Sailor Mars commented, thinking about her brother and the others waiting for her back at the Hikawa Jinja.

"The Dark Kingdom just doesn't know when to quit, do they," Sailor Jupiter added.

"Then we'll just have to take them out too," said Sailor Venus.

"Right. Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, take that soldier," Sailor Moon ordered, "Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mercury, you take the other soldier." But just as the senshi separated to attack the soldiers, they suddenly dashed at Sailor Moon with amazing speed and tackled her to the ground. And just as they had both drawn their swords to finish her off, a sharp pain shot through their backs as roses pierced through their armor. The roses struck them hard enough to cause them to wince in pain and drop their swords to the ground.

Sailor Moon turned over onto her hands and knees and looked behind her to find Tuxedo Mask, standing on a light post with his cape blowing in the wind. "Tuxedo Mask," she exclaimed joyfully with hearts in her eyes.

"Your costumes are hundreds of years out of style, especially when wearing them in the serene environment such as this park," he said as he hopped down from the light post and advanced toward the soldier duo, "Sailor Moon, be strong, and be swift. I'll help you slow these metal speed demons." And with that witty speech, he dashed at the soldiers and threw a volley of roses at the, striking them in various weak joints on their armor and piercing the soldiers beneath. With the soldiers seemingly weakened, the senshi combined their attacks on one of the soldiers.

"Shabon Spray!"

"Fire..."

As they were attempting their attacks, the soldier swiftly shook the roses from his body and launched a powerful wave of dark energy, knocking all 5 senshi back and preventing them from utilizing their attacks. And the other soldier shook the roses from his body and attacked Tuxedo Mask with amazing speed, quickly throwing him aside. With one prince out of the way, the soldier then bum rushed Sailor Mars, tackling her hard to the ground. Sailor Mars quickly recovered and shook off the tackle, only to receive a blast of dark energy from the other soldier knocking her back down to the ground.

Sailor Jupiter also recovered from the dark wave and crossed her arms in front of her. An antenna popped out from her tiara as lightning struck it, charging her attack.

"Supreme... AAGGHH!"

Before she could release the power of lightning, the soldiers double-teamed her with a combined rapid-fire energy beam, knocking her over hundred feet back and back to the ground. One soldier decided to concentrate on other senshi while the other went for Tuxedo Mask as he recovered from the beating he had taken. Tuxedo Mask withdrew his cane and clashed with the soldier's sword. In a valiant display of true swordsmanship, Tuxedo Mask began getting the upper hand on his foe. However, as he was about to knock the soldier back, the soldier's eyes glowed a bright purple as they fired lasers at him, knocking Tuxedo Mask back and causing him to wince in pain. And as the soldier raised his sword to rush at the weakened Tuxedo Mask, a ball of fire struck the soldier from behind, sending him flying over Tuxedo Mask's head. After his flight, he immediately recovered to see Sailor Mars glaring at him with near fury.  
"Dammit, I've had enough of you," he swore as he launched a large ball of dark energy at her, sending her flying into a light post with the force of a charging bull and seriously injuring her.

_Meanwhile, at the Hikawa Jinja..._

Kyodai sat with both Yuuichirou and Romano in Yuuichirou's room as they watched a soccer game between Japan and South Korea on TV. They all cheered Japan on as they led South Korea by 1. Soccer was always something Kyodai enjoyed, both as a participant and as a spectator. And it was something he shared with Romano, the youngest of the shrine workers that Kyodai's grandfather had taken in. Romano too was a soccer enthusiast, and played on Juuban High's soccer team as a forward, much like Kyodai was in his high school days. In fact, soccer was the one thing all 3 men shared with each other. While Yuuichirou was the religious follower of the sport as a spectator, Kyodai and Romano were the athletes who participated as well as followed as spectators. So they sat in Yuuichirou's room, cheering for Japan as they played and cursing at South Korea whenever they scored.

Suddenly, Kyodai a strange sensation began to overtake Kyodai during a commercial break. He immediately closed his eyes and placed his fingers on his temple, trying to deduce the meaning of the sensation. Yuuichirou noticed immediately, "Hey Kyodai, you okay?"

"Yeah," he responded, looking back up toward the TV screen, "I'll be fine."

As the soccer game came back on, Kyodai tried to forget the odd feeling and did his best to concentrate on the game. Very little interesting was going on in the game as both sides merely traded possession every time one team even tried to advance toward the other's goal. However, Kyodai was once again overwhelmed again by the same odd feeling, like someone close to him is in danger. This time, Romano was the one to notice it, "Are you sure you're okay, Kyodai-san?"

"I'm sorry guys," he replied as he stood up to leave, "I just forgot I had to do something this morning. I'm heading out for a bit, but I'll be back. Keep me posted on the game, will 'ya?"

"No problem," said Yuuichirou.

Once out of Yuuichirou's room, he ran into his own room and shut the door. Assured that no one was listening, he raised his left hand, bearing his obsidian jewel ring, and summoned the power of fire, transforming him into Tuxedo Inferno. Once he donned his maroon tuxedo and cape, he leaped out his open window and dashed at full-speed toward the park.

_Juuban Park..._

Throughout their tough battle, tangling with a pair of swift-  
footed soldiers, the senshi had managed to defeat one of them. However, the defeat of just one of the soldiers came at a rather high price. Sailor Mars had taken a wild thrashing from the soldiers' double-team attacks and was out of commission, and Sailor Moon wasn't much better off. She was struggling to even stay on her feet, wobbling from side to side and having a difficult time focusing on a target. Tuxedo Mask was also out of the battle field and unconscious after suffering a double lariat from the hypersonic duo. So that had left 3 senshi to contend with the remaining soldier.

"Our combined attacks are too slow for this soldier," said Sailor Mercury, "We'll have to divide ourselves..."

Sailor Mercury's advice was cut short as the speedy soldier dashed around behind her and struck her in the back of the head with the pommel of his sword. She fell to the ground, totally limp and utterly unconscious. Sailor Venus watched on in awe as her friend was quickly neutralized. Sailor Jupiter, however, only let it fuel her rage as she stepped forward and crossed her arms in front of her, summoning forth a vicious lightning. With the soldier in her sights, she unleashed the lightning's ravenous fury. However, the soldier spotted her attack as she was summoning the lightning and swiftly dodged her attack. Once he sidestepped her attack, he flew at her as quickly as his agile feet could carry him and struck her with the pommel of his sword before she could even react, knocking the Senshi of Thunder to the ground in a daze.

The soldier then focused his attack at the awe-struck Sailor Venus. Before he could react, he fired a ball of dark energy at her, blasting Sailor Venus out of his way. With all the senshi knocked down or dazed, and barely beginning to recover, he turned his focus back on the unconscious Sailor Mars. Remembering Queen Beryl's strategy to focus on one particular senshi, he ran back to the stricken Sailor Mars and attempted to finish off her for good, by draining the rest of her energy. But as he reached for her, a beam of fire struck the soldier from the side and knocked him away a good distance from her.

All the other sailor senshi and even Tuxedo Mask had witnessed the attack as they were recovering from the beatings they had taken. They looked toward the origin of the fire beam to find Tuxedo Inferno on top of nearby gazebo, with his long hair and cape flying effortlessly in the wind. His appearance further motivated the senshi to quickly recover from their thrashings, giving them a new found energy.

"He's come again," said Sailor Venus.

"I hope he's fast enough to contend with that agile soldier," said Sailor Mercury.

However, only Sailor Jupiter glared at him with utter suspicion, yet remained silent as she too recovered from her beating. The soldier also recovered from the fiery attack and decided to make another attempt at finishing off Sailor Mars, completely ignoring the tuxedoed warrior.

"He just doesn't give up," said Tuxedo Inferno, "It's time for a little diversion."

He hopped down from the gazebo and waved his hand in the soldier's direction, "Inferno Laughing Spirit!"

Suddenly, a burning ghostlike spirit materialized from thin air and flew toward the soldier. It began to fly around him, laughing at him maniacally. The soldier took his sword and swung it at the cackling spirit with all his might, but the spirit vanished into thin air, effectively dodging the attack. It then reappeared right behind the soldier and continued with his psychotic laughing. The soldier turned swiftly, swinging his sword at the pesky spirit, only to miss again as it disappeared. It then reappeared right in front of his face, stuck his tongue out, and blew raspberries at him. The soldier swung his sword at the spirit again. However, the sword passed through the flaming ghost as if it were nothing but air, and the spirit continued on with his utter laughter.

With the soldier completely occupied with the meddlesome spirit, Sailor Moon found her opportunity and removed her tiara, "Moon Tiara Action!"

The soldier never saw her attack coming with the spirit constantly flying around him and laughing at him. The tiara slammed him in the face, reducing him into a pile of armor plates and ashes almost instantly.

The flaming spirit disappeared as Tuxedo Inferno and Sailor Moon dash over to Sailor Mars to check on her as the other senshi watched on. Tuxedo Inferno knelled down to her and placed his hand on her neck, and luckily felt a pulse. However, her fuku had received a few small slashes and was quite tattered, and her body was completely limp.

"She's hurt pretty badly," he said, "She must've taken one hell of a beating."

"Oh my god, Sailor Mars," she gasped.

"Don't worry, I can help her," he said as he placed his hand on her chest and closed his masked eyes, "Inferno Phoenix..." As he uttered those words, a fiery bird appeared in the sky and descended toward the trio. "Revive!" As the bird descended closer to the trio, fire began to form around Sailor Mars' body. Then Tuxedo Inferno pulled his hand away as the bird transformed into pure fire and bonded with Sailor Mars, engulfing her in its life-giving flames. The senshi watched on as the flames subsided, leaving Sailor Mars with her fuku completely restored and any visible wounds heeled. She opened her eyes, looking upon the masked face of Tuxedo Inferno and the concerned face of Sailor Moon.

"Sailor Moon," she uttered as Tuxedo Inferno took her by the hand and helped her to her feet.

"I'm so glad you're okay," said Sailor Moon as she threw herself at Sailor Mars and her arms around her, "Tuxedo Inferno here saved us."

Sailor Mars wrapped her arms around Sailor Moon in response and turned to Tuxedo Inferno, "Thank you, Tuxedo Inferno."

But before Tuxedo Inferno could reply, a deep, dark voice suddenly began laughing at the senshi. They all turned to its origin to see a man in red and black armor with his red cape and long black hair waving in the wind.

"And who the hell are you?" Sailor Jupiter said with great anger.

"I am Titanius," he replied, crossing his arm in front of him and taking a polite introductory bow, "Queen Beryl told me about you and sent me here to send every one of you straight to hell."

He then withdrew a large futuristic-looking rifle, aimed at the trash-talking sailor Jupiter, and pulled the trigger. The rifle fired an intense green beam at her, sending her flying backward into a nearby tree with great force. The remaining senshi and Tuxedo Inferno scattered as Tuxedo Mask waved his arm at the new enemy, throwing dozens of sharp-  
tipped roses.

Titanius quickly reacted and threw up a force field, deflecting each and every rose that would've found their mark. And just as quickly, he pointed his blaster at Tuxedo Mask and fired, striking him dead in the chest. The beam had struck with such great power, that it sent him on a ride toward the lake, causing him to skip across its entire 1/4-  
mile width.

"Hey Titanius," a Sailor Moon's voice yelled to him. He turned to see Sailor Moon removing her tiara and charging it up, "In the name of the Moon, you'll be punished! Moon Tiara Action!"

Sailor Moon hurled her tiara at Titanius with all her might driving it. However, Titanius jumped aside, dodging the flying tiara and counterattacked by firing his blaster Sailor Moon. However, Sailor Moon saw him pointing his blaster at her and turned to run away as the beam fired, missing her by inches. Having missed, Titanius quickly trained his blaster on the running Sailor Moon and took aim. And just as he was about to pull the trigger, Sailor Moon's tiara struck him in the back of the head on its return trip, knocking him to the ground.

With Titanius busy, Tuxedo Inferno turned to Titanius, seeing his opportunity attack, and teamed up with Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus.

"Fire Soul!"

"Crescent Beam!"

"Inferno, Flame!

The combined attacks connected with Titanius, giving him his frequent flyer miles as he flew into a nearby playground, dropping his blaster as he landed. In almost an instant, he pushed himself back to his feet and retrieved his blaster. He then turned to the first senshi he could find, Sailor Mercury, and began charging toward her.

"Oh no you don't," Tuxedo Inferno said as he dashed at Titanius with amazing speed, "Inferno Fire Dance!" At near light speed, he dashed all around Titanius, setting the area around him ablaze and striking him with well-choreographed dance moves. As he finished his fiery dance, he stepped back to observe the results. However, his eyes under his masked opened wide as he discovered that Titanius was still standing after taking such a swift and powerful attack. He simply stared at the amazed Tuxedo Inferno square in his masked face and raised his blaster, aiming straight for his chest. But just as he was about to pull the trigger and put the tuxedoed hero out of his misery, a tiara slammed into it, knocking it out of his hand and shattering it into many small pieces.

"What the hell?!" Titanius exclaimed, his hands still outstretched as if it were still holding his blaster as he stared down at what remained of his blaster, "You just destroyed my favorite blaster."

With Titanius wide open and awe-struck at the destruction of his powerful weapon, Tuxedo Inferno took the opportunity and waved his arms, "Inferno Fire..." He then threw his hands in front of him, "...Beam!" With that chant, he fired an intense beam of fire at Titanius, connecting with his chest and sending him flying into a covered picnic area. He casually pushed himself back to his feet, only to discover the 4 remaining senshi and Tuxedo Inferno staring straight at him, ready to finish him off.

"You may have won the battle," he said, "But the war has just begun. We shall meet again." He threw his arm in front of him, releasing a smoke screen. The smoke covered the entire covered picnic area and enveloped the senshi and Tuxedo Inferno, causing them to cough and gag. Moments later, the smoke cleared, revealing only the covered picnic area. Titanius was gone.

"Who was he?" Sailor Venus wondered.

"Apparently, he's that bounty hunter that the Dark Kingdom had sent after us," Sailor Mercury replied as she analyzed her minicomputer, which she had been using throughout the battle to gain data on Titanius, "And he has to be the most powerful guy we've had to fight yet."

"Do you know him," Sailor Moon asked Tuxedo Inferno.

"I've never seen him or even dreamed of him before," he responded, "So I really have no idea who he is."

"I understand. I'll go check on Sailor Jupiter," Sailor Moon said as she ran off, with Sailor Venus trailing behind her. The rest of the senshi also turned away and ran toward the fallen Tuxedo Mask to check on him.

"Well, my work here is done," Tuxedo Inferno said to no one in particular as he turned and ran out of the park, back toward the Hikawa Jinja.

"You okay, Sailor Jupiter?" Sailor Moon said as she and Sailor Venus reached her.

Sailor Jupiter merely groaned as she struggled to push herself back to her feet, "I've been better."

"Tuxedo Inferno came back and helped us defeat Titanius," said Sailor Moon.

"Is he still around?" Sailor Jupiter asked, with not even enough energy to take an aggressive stance if Tuxedo Inferno was still around.

In response, Sailor Moon looked about the park, only to see no sign of Tuxedo Inferno. "Nope, he's gone," she replied, "But it looks like he's the least of your worries."

"Yeah, that Titanius is one powerful guy," Sailor Jupiter said as the others come to their position.

"Where's Tuxedo Mask?" Sailor Moon wondered.

"He recovered when we got there and left shortly after," Sailor Mars responded.

"So is Tuxedo Inferno," Sailor Venus added.

"I saw that. And I wanted to thank them both for coming to our aid," she said, rising to her feet and letting out a heavy sigh, "Oh well."

She then looked at all 4 of her senshi, all looking at her with concerned faces, yet curious ones as well. This battle was by far the toughest they've had to endure since Kunzite's first appearance. And it all had them worried. Sailor Moon only nodded to them all in response as she came up with a quick solution to their concerns. "Meeting at Makoto's?" Sailor Moon proposed.

"Right," the other senshi responded as they all ran out of the park and in the direction of Makoto's apartment.

_The Hikawa Jinja..._

After this battle with the Dark Kingdom, Kyodai arrived back at the shrine in his civilian form. The soccer game was foremost on his mind as he ran up the steps of the shrine, with thoughts of the Dark Kingdom interrupting his time with the guys at the shrine. It was supposed to be a time when he could bond with the guys since he was living at the temple, and would in time help him to accept them as surrogate brothers. And as Kyodai reached the top of the steps, he hoped that he still had time to pick up where he had left off before the battle.

Once inside, he removed his house slippers at the door since he was still wearing them when he transformed in his room. At least he still had socks on. So he merely walked casually in the direction of Yuuichirou's room, pretending to have just returned from the errand he said he had to run. He opened Yuuichirou's door, finding him and Romano still watching the soccer game. He let out a big sigh of relief, "Good, I made it in time."

Yuuichirou and Romano both looked at Kyodai.

"Kyodai-san, you're back," said Romano.

"You didn't miss too much while you were gone," said Yuuichirou.

"Hey, Yuuichirou. Hey, Romano," he replied, waving to them both, "So what's the score?"

"At 62 minutes, it's Japan 4, South Korea 2," Yuuichirou answered before he turned back to the TV, only to see the Korean players celebrating, "Oh man, Korea just scored."

Relieved to still have a third of the game left to go and things starting to get interesting in the game, Kyodai took seat on Yuuichirou's bed as the 3 watched the game. On the TV, the Korean players and the Korean fans were still celebrating their recent goal, prompting the men to yell and throw popcorn at the TV in response. And with that, the battle with the Dark Kingdom quickly left Kyodai's mind, and all his worries with it.

_Later, at Makoto's Apartment..._

The door to Makoto's apartment opened, and all five girls in their civilian forms walked inside with Luna and Artemis trailing behind following. As they were making their trip to Makoto's, Usagi had contacted Luna while Minako contacted Artemis. Both girls had wanted to include the cats in their meeting, especially with the appearance of a new enemy weighing heavily on their minds. So as the girls had made their way inside, they took their seats on the couches surrounding Makoto's coffee table. Luna hopped up on Ami's lap, while Artemis jumped into Minako's as they both listened to what the girls had to say.

Rei took a deep breath and opened the discussion, "Today's battle was unlike any other."

"Tell me about it," said Minako.

"First, we have a couple of really fast soldiers attack us," Usagi explained, "And then this guy in black armor shows up to crash our celebration."

"He said his name was Titanius," said Makoto, "And he sure packed one hell of a wallop. That gun of his was more powerful than any weapon I've ever seen the Dark Kingdom use."

"Luna, do you know anything about Titanius?" Usagi asked.

"I remember him to be a former member of the Dark Kingdom," Luna explained, "But he left the Dark Kingdom long before their attack on the Moon Kingdom a thousand years ago. From what I've heard, Titanius had become a bounty hunter, a very dangerous one."

"So he must've been the one from my fire reading," said Rei.

"So he was a bounty hunter after all," said Ami, "I scanned him while we were fighting him. Luna, he wields a lot of power. I can safely say that he's as powerful as even Kunzite."

"And with Titanius back and working for the Dark Kingdom, they'll be an even more dangerous threat to earth," said Luna.

"And us," Makoto added, "If he's the bounty hunter Ami was talking about, then the Dark Kingdom does have a price on our heads."

"What about Tuxedo Inferno?" Minako asked, "How does he fit in to all of this."

"Tuxedo Inferno seems to be on our side," said Ami, "He even helped us to defeat Titanius."

"I agree with Ami," said Rei, "My fire readings didn't reveal anything about him."

"I still don't trust him much," said Makoto.

"Why not?" Usagi inquired.

"This could all be nothing but a trick by the Dark Kingdom," Makoto explained.

"Oh, will you get off your suspicions already," Rei said grimly, "He saved me from that soldier. He saved us from Titanius. I think he's on our side."

"I agree," said Usagi.

"Back to the subject," said Luna, "There have been more soldiers lately and less of a variety of youma. I don't know what's doing on."

"The Dark Kingdom is certainly getting ruthless," said Artemis, "First, they send a lot of strong soldiers after us, then they resurrect the other 3 Kings, and now they hire a bounty hunter. I don't know what's going on either, but the Dark Kingdom is planning some major offensive."

"All more the reason to keep alert," Luna added, "Artemis and I will look into things. You girls try to carry on with your lives, but keep your communicators and pins handy."

With that, the girls and cats rose from their seats up and walk toward the front door to leave. Makoto, on the other hand with it being her apartment, decided to stay and resume her housecleaning.

_The Dark Kingdom..._

Although he was defeated in his first battle with the Mars Prince and the Sailor Team, Titanius walked down the halls of the Dark Kingdom wearing a grin on his face. He certainly felt completely satisfied with the battle, as it was his first real challenge since he had left the Dark Kingdom over a thousand years ago. And it was that satisfaction that he walked into Queen Beryl's throne room with no fear of any possible punishment she had in store for him. Once inside, he saw Queen Beryl, patiently awaiting his report as she continued waving her hands around her crystal ball. He stopped in front of her and her crystal and kneeled down to her.

"That was a good battle you fought, Titanius. You really sent the Mars Prince, Prince Endymion, and those sailor senshi a message today. Rise," said Beryl, with Titanius rising from his kneel, "You are powerful like Jadeite said you were."

"Thank you, Queen Beryl-sama," Titanius replied, "It was definitely a good challenge, but I lost my only blaster to the Mars Prince and that damned Sailor Moon."

"Don't you have any other powers besides that blaster?" Beryl inquired, "You were once a champion of the Dark Kingdom."

"Indeed I do, but the blaster was my favorite," Titanius replied.

"Then use your powers," Beryl ordered, "You could use a little practice at them since you relied on that blaster for so long."

"Yes, Queen Beryl-sama," Titanius replied. During their conversion, Jadeite and Nephrite walked into the throne room, talking amongst themselves.

"And this is our new bounty hunter, Titanius," said Jadeite, waving hand in Titanius' direction to introduce him.

"So, he used to be one of ours?" said Nephrite

"Right, he was a great champion before he left to become a bounty hunter," Jadeite explained.

"I see," said Nephrite, "He should make an excellent addition to our ranks."

"Right you are," said Beryl as she glared at the two men for interrupting her briefing with Titanius, "Anyway, good job at sending a message to them, Titanius. As for you two, I expect double efforts out of you. If you all combine your powers along with Titanius', the Mars Prince and those senshi are as good as gone. Dismissed."

Jadeite and Nephrite bowed to her in response, while Titanius gave her a British salute, as they turned to leave Queen Beryl's throne room, leaving her and her minions to their thoughts.

_the end_

* * *

...Disclaimer: As usual, Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but belong to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and I only thank them for bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno  
(Y2V)


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